Foden's mesmerising assist keeps City's title hopes alive

Phil Foden walked onto the pitch at Selhurst Park on Wednesday night carrying the weight of a long drought. Twenty-seven matches without a goal. Weeks on the bench. Questions about whether he still belonged in Pep Guardiola's rotation. Then, in the first half against Crystal Palace, he produced something that made everyone forget the numbers.

It was a backheel—the kind of pass that exists in that narrow space between audacity and genius. Foden checked his positioning twice, saw Antoine Semenyo make his run, and flicked the ball backward with his heel into the path of the striker. Semenyo finished. The goal stood. Guardiola erupted on the sideline. By the time the half ended, Foden had done it again, setting up a second goal and leaving City with a 3-0 victory that felt, in its own way, like a reprieve.

The assist itself became the story. Jamie Redknapp called it the assist of the season. Micah Richards, watching from the Sky Sports studio, spoke about the sensational geometry of it—the vision, the execution, the sheer audacity of attempting something so delicate when the team needed a spark. "This is why I love him," Richards said. "The little backheel is sensational." Foden had created five chances in that opening 45 minutes, more than any player has managed in a Premier League first half all season. Two assists in a single half—his first time doing so since December 2023.

The context made it matter more. Guardiola had gambled on his lineup, making six changes to rest players ahead of Saturday's FA Cup final against Chelsea. He had done something similar earlier in the season, rotating ten players for a Champions League match against Bayer Leverkusen, and it had backfired. This time, the risk looked different. City looked fragmented early, disjointed, until Foden's instinct cut through the noise. When he was substituted in the 82nd minute, the crowd gave him a standing ovation. He was named man of the match.

Foden himself spoke carefully about the moment. "When you get your moment, you have to take it," he said afterward. He acknowledged the long stretch—the good first half of the season followed by the struggle, the benching, the patience required when surrounded by world-class players who were performing better. "It happens when you have quality players around you and they are more at it than you," he said. But he also spoke about the risk of the backheel, about how sometimes those gambles don't come off, and how delighted he was that this one did.

The performance may have shifted his standing in one more arena. Thomas Tuchel, England's manager, has not guaranteed Foden a place in the 24-player World Cup squad heading into the summer. Foden started England's final two friendlies before the squad announcement, but uncertainty remained. Richards argued that Foden's ability to unlock defenses playing a low block—exactly what Crystal Palace had attempted—made him essential. "In a World Cup when you need something special, he can produce that," Richards said. The question of whether Tuchel would see it the same way remained open.

For Manchester City, the immediate concern was the title race. The victory left them two points behind Arsenal with one week remaining. Arsenal could clinch by winning their next two matches against Burnley and Crystal Palace. If Arsenal won at home on Monday and City failed to beat Bournemouth on Tuesday, the trophy would be Arsenal's. But if City won on the south coast, the title would go to the final day on May 24th, with City hosting Aston Villa at home. Guardiola, when asked about the path forward, was matter-of-fact. "Depends on them," he said of Arsenal. "If they win two games, nothing to do, nothing to talk. All we can be is in there just in case." The last two games, he added, were tough. But so, it turned out, was a 25-year-old midfielder who had been waiting for his moment.