Why Phil Foden’s Man City season could be doomed already

As Phil Foden finally made the long trudge, from almost the far corner of Old Trafford to the tunnel by the Stretford End, the temptation was to say that, with Thomas Tuchel and his assistant Anthony Barry present, it was a particularly bad time to be sent off.

And so it was. Just not for any reasons related to England. Tuchel will finalise his squad for four Nations League games against Spain, Czechia and Croatia. But Foden was never likely to be in it. The German had three No 10s in his World Cup squad, in Jude Bellingham, Morgan Rogers and Eberechi Eze. Since then, another, Morgan Gibbs-White, has started the season well and one more, Cole Palmer, quite brilliantly. A player without a goal in 2026 was hardly likely to make the cut in the position where England have most competition for places.

And not, it transpired, in the context of the Manchester derby. Foden’s early expulsion made Manchester City’s eventual victory all the sweeter for them. Erling Haaland reflected that he was not used to winning with 10 men. For a new manager, in Enzo Maresca, and new signings, in Enzo Fernandez, Elliot Anderson and Iliman Ndiaye, it was a breakthrough occasion in embryonic City careers, each seizing his chance to show he belongs at the club. Foden’s departure allowed a team to show their grit. City are not often underdogs, but with a numerical disadvantage, away from home, they probably were.

But for Foden, the sense a new season and a new managerial era could have provided a fresh start, it represented an awful afternoon, one that, already, runs the risk a third successive season will feel ill-fated. There are things to be said in mitigation. There was the little kick from Bruno Fernandes that provoked him and which, Maresca thought, should have brought the Manchester United captain his marching orders.

There is Foden’s largely excellent disciplinary record: the cliché is that he is not that kind of player and his record suggests as much. His first 374 games for City brought a solitary red card, a harsh one for two bookings. The 375th brought a first for violent conduct, for kicking out at Fernandes, connecting in his midriff. When Roy Keane and Wayne Rooney argued it was not a red card, it perhaps reflected on some of their own antics in their playing days. Maresca willingly conceded referee Michael Oliver was correct to dismiss Foden.

Given how early it came, his punishment is in effect almost a four-match ban: three-quarters of the Manchester derby, the Carabao Cup tie against Norwich, Premier League matches against Sunderland and Liverpool. Sit out the four England games and Foden will not play again for a month.

Which could come with several consequences. For an attacker without a goal in 35 games, a home match against Championship opposition could have offered a chance to end the longest of droughts; but Foden will be banned for a match when, potentially, he could have played centre-forward, if Haaland is rested.

By the time Foden is available again, Jeremy Doku should be fit. He probably owed his starting berth on the right wing at Old Trafford to the fact the Belgian is injured, meaning Antoine Semenyo lined up on the left. Then there is the man who finished on the right: Ndiaye was outstanding, suggesting he can offer much of what Maresca wants on the flanks. The other addition late in the transfer window, Allan Elias, may get his chance to make an impression against Norwich.

More pertinently, the pecking order in Foden’s preferred position has become apparent. He started the season as City’s No 10, aided by having a pre-season while Rayan Cherki was recuperating after the World Cup. The Frenchman’s magical performance against Crystal Palace meant he assumed the central creator’s role. A flair player has a productive side, with eight goals for City since Foden’s last.

And, apart from a golden six weeks last November and December, Foden has had an extended barren spell that dates back over two years since he scored 27 goals in 2023-24, winning both the PFA Player of the Year and the Footballer of the Year awards.

He turned 24 just after that season. He is 26 now, supposedly at his peak, instead in a mid-career malaise that, it felt, confounded Pep Guardiola at times last season. City have furnished Foden with a new contract but Cherki, the joker in the pack, has upstaged him.

It may be amateur psychology to argue there was an element of frustration when Foden kicked out. There will probably be rather more over the next month. Monday marks a year to the day since a Manchester derby win including a Foden goal. For the local lad with a record of scoring against United, this seemed the game to spur him back into form. Instead, it all got worse for Foden.