Damning stat, Tuchel u-turn, hidden progress - Do Man City have a Phil Foden problem?

New era, same problem.

Phil Foden was the designated scapegoat when England beat Albania on Friday without the bombastic team performance many had hoped for in Thomas Tuchel's first game. A win is a win, and England have hired Tuchel to win at all costs rather than just play for the shirt.

But England fans by their nature need something to moan about. It's in our blood. And Manchester City man Foden is the perfect candidate this season, especially when Tuchel zeroed in on him post-match.

“Both our wingers who started were not as impactful as they can be in club football," Tuchel said after putting Foden out wide.

“We lacked runs off the ball. It was a little bit too much passing, not enough dribbling, not aggressive enough towards goal. They trained very well, they were decisive in training. “We hope for more impact in these positions. More dribbling and more aggressive runs towards the box.

"In general that was missing. The chances come from the little runs behind the line. They were not as decisive as they can be.”

It wasn't what Foden will have wanted to hear as Tuchel looks to quickly hone in on his best XI ahead of next summer's World Cup. Ahead of Monday's international games, Tuchel said he had spoken to Foden, praising his effort and pressing, particularly defensively in something of a u-turn.

"Phil is just maybe not finding the momentum at the moment that he can have," Tuchel said. "Phil needs maybe a little bit closer connections to a No 10 than we could provide in this match."

So after identifying a problem, Tuchel seems clear on a solution. Pep Guardiola will be interested to see if it works - he has struggled to find that momentum in last year's Premier League Player of the Year.

Foden spoke of feeling