Manuel Akanji outlines Phil Foden hope at Man City

Manuel Akanji hopes Phil Foden will continue his fine form in front of goal for the rest of the season.

It's been a tough campaign for Foden as injury, a loss of form and the brilliant performances of Jack Grealish and Riyad Mahrez have largely restricted him to bench role in recent months. However, the local hero has forced his way back into Pep Guardiola's side over the last week by delivering in front of goal.

The forward scored in the win over Bournemouth before grabbing another two goals in the FA Cup against Bristol City and then made it four goals in three games with a fine strike to open the scoring against Newcastle. Foden picked up the ball and drove through the Magpies' defence before finding the back of the net.

ALSO READ: Man City player ratings vs Newcastle as Dias and Foden great

Akanji says that once Foden is in full flow he is extremely hard to defend against and hopes his great form continues. “We saw his goal – he’s so hard to defend against and we’ve seen it in training," he said. "When he comes with speed and goes inside it’s one of the hardest things to defend against. Hopefully he keeps on scoring goals and getting assists.”

Bernardo Silva's lovely finish meant City defeated Newcastle 2-0 and finally kept a clean sheet in the Premier League after a few weeks of conceding despite being in control of games. Akanji was delighted with the shutout.

The Swiss continued: “It’s very important. It has been frustrating the last few games we have had – being in control but somehow the other team scores. We knew we wanted to improve on it – it’s for the whole team. Everybody helped out and everyone defended really well at the set pieces.

“Very happy with the win. We did what we came for – we got the three