Phil Foden’s new celebration could potentially land him in a spot of bother as former Manchester United striker Edinson Cavani once found out.
The England international scored his second Premier League hat-trick on Monday night as City came from behind to beat Brentford 3-1 at the Gtech Community Stadium.
Foden equalised on the stroke of half-time before heading City into the lead minutes after the restart.
He then sealed the win in the 70th minute with a historic goal that took him to eight in the league this term.
The 23-year-old debuted a new celebration that he displayed after all three of his goals, making a gun gesture while on his knees.
Afterwards, Foden explained that the new celebration comes after his teammates started calling him ‘The Sniper’ for how much he shoots in five-a-side games.
It looked very similar to the trademark celebration from Cavani, who did it playing for the likes of Napoli, Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester United and Uruguay.
However, the 36-year-old was once controversially sent off for the celebration during his time at PSG.
Back in October 2014, Cavani was one of three players given his marching orders in a game against Lens.
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PSG won 3-1 away from home, with Cavani scoring a penalty. Yet a minute after he scored, he was walking down the tunnel after being shown a red card.
Cavani, who enjoys hunting, got down on one knee and fired an imaginary gun shot.
Referee Nicolas Rainville took issue with the celebration and booked him. Cavani reacted by grabbing the official’s arm in protest and received a second caution which resulted in him being sent off.
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Image: Getty
PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi was furious with the decision, telling Canal+: “Cavani does not deserve that red card. And why has he got a yellow before? He always does the same celebration.
“This is not normal and it is not good for French football if we want to develop. It is a bad situation for everyone.”
Phil Foden vs Brentford:
3 Goals
98 Touches
78 Accurate Passes
95% Pass Accuracy
4 Shots On Target
3 Key Passes
2 Clearances
2 Shots Blocked
1 Accurate Long Ball
🔟/🔟 performance. The perfect hat-trick. 🎩
🏴 💫 Phil Foden (23) for Manchester City this season:
⚽️ 13 goals
🎯 9 assists
Phil Foden has now been directly involved in eight goals in his last six PL games (4 goal, 4 assists). ✨💙
Phil Foden took the plaudits for his terrific hat-trick but it was another Manchester City star who wrecked Brentford’s plan
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola shakes hands with Brentford’s Thomas Frank
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola shakes hands with Brentford’s Thomas Frank
Pep Guardiola was asked plenty about Phil Foden after Manchester City’s win over Brentford. The 24-year-old gave more evidence of his immense talent with a wonderful hat-trick that turned a difficult evening into a comfortable one in west London and moved them to within two points of the Premier League summit.
City’s coach was also asked about Erling Haaland, who started for the first time in two months following a stress fracture to his foot. Haaland is inevitably a talking point wherever he goes, although Guardiola chose to focus on the space the No.9 created for his teammates rather than any missed chances in front of goal.
The City name on Brentford boss Thomas Frank’s lips, however, was Kevin De Bruyne. His team had tried to restrict City in the second half yet the plan had fallen short because of a Belgian who could navigate through a storm without needing to see.
“We knew that De Bruyne was the key player to close down, but he found that magic pass,” Frank said. “Some of the things were good but, when you face the best team in the world, you need to be perfect.”
It should take nothing away from the run and finish that, just like two seasons ago on this fixture, it was De Bruyne who found the space that nobody else could and executed an unstoppable delivery. All the hard work of the Bees undone with one swing of a De Bruyne boot.
It seems banal to say that City have sorely missed De Bruyne, yet sometimes the most simple answers are the best ones. The Belgian has been back for three league games and has made match-changing contributions in each of them.
Monday’s assist took him clear into third place on the list of all-time Premier League assists and also up to three for a league season in which he has only played 221 minutes. With 17 games to go, how safe is Ollie Watkins at the top of the assists charts on 10? How safe does Ryan Giggs feel in the all-time list with 57 more than the 32-year-old?
More importantly for City, the more De Bruyne plays the more opposition teams have every right to be nervous about their plan to contain him. Newcastle, Burnley and now Brentford have all been out-thought by him inside a month to result in nine points for Guardiola’s side.
Foden, Haaland and Julian Alvarez are more than capable of scoring the goals to punish teams but while the Blues have De Bruyne on the pitch their chances of creating those opportunities shoot up. If City are to come on strong in the second half of the season, much will be down to the simple fact of having one of the world’s best back from injury.
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