Phil Foden blamed Manchester City’s fitness as they struggled to contain Brentford in the final half hour as the Bees came from 2-0 down to secure a point on Tuesday
Phil Foden confessed Manchester City didn’t have the energy to hold off Brentford – stating they looked “leggy” as two points were dropped.
The champions looked on course to win for a fourth game in a row as they scored two second-half goals in west London, both of which came courtesy of Foden. But a late rally from the home side saw them net their equaliser in stoppage time.
City struggled to contain the Bees, who continued to push forward throughout the encounter. Their pressure eventually told as Pep Guardiola’s men were unable to see out a contest they would previously have won with ease when leading 2-0.
Foden, whose own performances have been called into question after his stellar year last term, bemoaned the team’s failings and blamed their lack of fitness.
Foden told TNT Sports: “We just looked tired at the end, the last 20, 30 minutes. We looked leggy and they put the pressure on and put longer balls into the box. We didn’t cope with the physicality at the end. It’s one of the toughest places to come and they give you different challenges.
“I was happy with the performance up until we went 1-0 up and then after that we let our performance slip and gave the ball away. It’s something to learn from. They gave us a challenge today and we did the best we could.”
City are still in the hunt for silverware in three competitions and, after they play Ipswich Town at the weekend, have a Champions League clash at PSG – which is a must-win encounter given their standing in Europe.
Foden, though, insisted their number of games is not a get out of jail free card. He said: “We’re used to it for many years, we’ve been playing the majority of the competitions and playing every three days so it’s something the squad are quite used to it, no excuses.”
A win at Brentford would’ve helped City continue their winning momentum with the team desperately seeking to get back to their previous heights, but Foden is confident they’re heading the right way.
“We’ve still got steps to go to where we want to be but as long as we keep making them small steps and improving, that’s what we’re aiming to do,” he said.
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