The 16th round of the English Premier League was played at Manchester City's home ground at dawn on Monday, with City eventually losing 1-2 at the feet of Manchester United. After the match, the Evening Standard captured a heartfelt message from City youngster Foden, who reflected on the game and laid out a blueprint for the team's future.
Foden admits that the team did not perform at its peak: "We still have to improve, but even so, I think we played well enough to earn the points. The key is to stay focused throughout the game, but we always seem to be a little distracted at key moments and need to be more focused."
Despite his frustration with the outcome of the game, Foden is confident about the future, "We are a united team, we are re-energized and believe in our past glory. We trust in our coach's guidance and are confident that if we persevere, we can get back on the winning track and get back to our best."
Foden felt that the team's performance would have been enough to win but ultimately failed to do so. He said bluntly that the current situation of the team is still tough and needs to be closer together to meet the challenges.
Speaking about the atmosphere in the dressing room, Foden revealed, "At the moment, there is a lot of loss and sadness in the dressing room, but we can't dwell on those emotions. In the world of soccer, there are always opportunities to right wrongs and we must recover as quickly as possible."
Foden emphasized that the team needed to keep their mentality strong throughout the 90 minutes, but unfortunately, they did not. He called on his teammates to pick themselves up again and come out of the loss with courage.
Foden concluded by saying that this is not a time to complain, but a time to come together, stay resilient and get back on track. He is confident that the team will be able to overcome the difficulties and find the thrill of victory: "I believe that we will eventually return."
