- Phil Foden equaled a milestone shared by Cristiano Ronaldo on Wednesday
- He scored a hat-trick against Aston Villa in the 4-1 demolition of Man City
- Have a day off, Pep! Guardiola’s lecture to Grealish at Etihad pitch was unnecessary, says Ian Ladyman – It all starts
Phil Foden now shares a Premier League milestone with Cristiano Ronaldo after his performance in Manchester City’s 4-1 win over Aston Villa.
The 23-year-old scored a stunning hat-trick to help City level with Liverpool on 67 points, with both teams one point behind leaders Arsenal.
Mail Sport’s Nathan Salt claimed Foden should be the 2023/2024 Footballer of the Year after scoring 21 goals for the season, by far his best total.
His spellbinding hat-trick puts him level with Ronaldo, Frank Lampard, Didier Drogba and others in a special club.
He now has three Premier League hat-tricks to his name and stands next to them in rarefied air.
Phil Foden scored his third Premier League hat-trick in Manchester City’s victory over Aston Villa
Cristiano Ronaldo, Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard are among the players to have scored three hat-tricks
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It’s a long way from Sergio Aguero’s standalone record of twelve, and current City teammate Erling Haaland already has five, but it shows the group he belongs to.
Only 41 players have achieved three or more hat-tricks since the Premier League began in 1992.
If Foden reaches fourth place, he will be level with Mohamed Salah, Son Heung-min and Mail Sport columnist Chris Sutton.
His first treble came in a 6-3 win over Manchester United at the Etihad in October 2022 – his first ever goals against his club’s bitter rivals.
And his second came back in February when City beat Brentford 3-1 at the Gtech Community Stadium. He is the first player to score two hat-tricks this season.
“I love football and I play with a smile on my face,” he told TNT Sports after City thrashed Villa.
‘I just try to help the team because I know I am capable of scoring goals. Today I showed that. I have set myself (the goal) to be better than last season. Trying to get more target contributions. I’m up this year. Doing well.
‘I see myself as a technical player in the pockets and I can do that job broadly. But my preference is for the middle. This year I’m growing in the game.
Foden said after the match that he prefers to play through the middle – no surprise if he scores hat-tricks!
He scored three against Brentford from the wing in February and is achieving the kind of figures that Kevin De Bruyne is achieving in contributions
City drew level with Liverpool and are one behind Arsenal in the Premier League
‘The manager talked about showing rhythm and slowing down the game. I added that to my game too. Before I went so fast; attack every action. Now I think the balance is just right.
‘I always try to arrive in the box. That’s where the targets lie and you can get at least five of them late in the box per season. I still have a lot to improve and I’m still working on that position.’
Foden’s impact from the middle was indeed remarkable and it highlights just how much potential there is for England in the summer if Gareth Southgate can figure out how best to use him.
In addition to his 21 goals, Foden has 21 assists and can rival the kind of numbers that Kevin De Bruyne scores.
De Bruyne scored ten goals last season, with a whopping 31 assists, and Foden is on course to make a similar number of contributions in total.
Rodri had opened the scoring against Villa after eleven minutes on Wednesday evening before Jhon Duran restored parity.
But a string of stunning goals from Foden – one in the first half and two in the second – left victory beyond doubt.