Phil Foden's 'pure instinct' means Man City should go Erling Haaland or bust this summer

Bernardo Silva and Phil Foden stole the headlines thanks to their spectacular strikes in Manchester City's 5-0 Champions League romp against Sporting CP.

But the most significant goal for City's medium to long-term future came from close range,

Phil Foden's tap-in us plenty how he now fits into the current version of Pep's City.

Operating as a false nine for much of the game, Foden occasionally acted like an out-and-out striker, making darting runs towards the six-yard box and occupying the attention of the central defenders.

It was in that manner that he scored, pouncing on a defensive mistake to coolly prod past the goalkeeper from a few yards out that truly impressed.

In their post-match Facebook Live, City Is Ours duo Dom Farrell and Alex Brotherton discussed how the 21-year-old has adapted to playing centrally as opposed to on the wing.

DF: "False-nine feels like it's Foden's spot now. Even though the goal tonight and the goal at Norwich aren't going to be goal-of-the-season contenders like the ones that Bernardo is pulling out of nowhere, they're both really nice, cute finishes. The little drag-back at Norwich, the feint to sit the goalkeeper down against Sporting.

"It was a good night for Phil after some mixed conversation about the season that he's having. It feels like he's really important and that he's in exactly the position that he needs to be."

AB: "Yeah, I agree. What goes under the radar a bit is that he has that pure striker's instinct, he's pretty much now getting those runs spot on in terms of when to make the run and when to make the movement away from the defender.

"His goal wasn't one where he just lost his man and was completely unmarked to tap home. From a Sporting point of view, there were two