Manchester City hat-trick hero Phil Foden praised the team’s resilience after they moved just two points behind Premier League leaders Liverpool with a 3-1 win at Brentford.
City fell behind against the run of play when Neal Maupay fired the London side into the lead on Monday but Foden levelled just before the interval.
The 23-year-old England international headed City in front early in the second half from Kevin De Bruyne’s cross, and then completed a stylish treble.
The English champions have made a habit of coming back to win games after falling behind.
“Resilience — we keep proving it season after season,” Foden told the City website.
“We keep surprising everyone by keeping our standards high and it’s down to the manager and this fantastic group of players.
“It’s the togetherness, when things aren’t going right, to bounce back.”
In the six years since making his debut as a waif-like 17-year-old, Foden has a Champions League, five Premier Leagues, two FA Cups, four League Cups, the Club World Cup and 31 appearances for England to his name.
City’s victory lifted Pep Guardiola’s men above Arsenal into second place on goal difference, two points behind leaders Liverpool with a game in hand.
“This is the most influential he has been in the team,” Guardiola said after the victory that took the champions within two points of Premier League leaders Liverpool with a game in hand.
“He has always had that threat in the box, he had that sense of an amateur player, like kids playing in the street. It’s how he moves in the small spaces and when he’s there now he can score or make an assist and that’s difficult to find.”
They have now won nine consecutive games in all competitions but Foden believes the Premier League title race will go to the wire.
“It’s going to be a tight one. Liverpool and Arsenal are two top teams doing really well,” he said.
“They are going to push us until the end so we have to try and not drop points and try to win all of our games really.”
(With inputs from Agencies)
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