Maresca's pep talk got Foden firing again for City

Phil Foden's back. And honestly, it took some real conversation with Enzo Maresca to make it happen.

The Manchester City midfielder's been quiet for two years—proper quiet, the kind that makes you wonder if he'll ever find his feet again. But then four goals in two games happened. Suddenly he doesn't look washed up anymore. He looks like the guy who scooped the PFA player of the year award in 2023-24, which, yeah, that was a lifetime ago in football terms.

Maresca didn't do some fancy tactical overhaul or ship him out. Instead the City boss just sat down and actually talked to him. Heart-to-heart stuff. Sometimes that's all it takes—a manager saying "look, I see what's wrong, let's fix this together" rather than benching someone and hoping they figure it out.

Saturday brings Aston Villa to the table, and City are flying. Perfect record in the Premier League under Maresca so far, which is exactly what you need when you're trying to stay on top. Haaland's back too after warming the bench against AEK Athens in the Champions League midweek, so City's actually looking scary now. Really scary.

The thing about Foden is he's got pedigree. When he's on it, he changes games. Two years of struggling doesn't erase what he can do—it just means he needed someone to believe in him enough to have an actual conversation about it rather than letting it fester. Maresca clearly gets that.

Villa won't roll over. But if Foden keeps playing like this and Haaland's sharp, City's going to be hard to stop.