Former Manchester United and England forward Wayne Rooney has said Phil Foden’s appearance in the EFL Cup final on Sunday felt like a “charity” substitution.
Manchester City lifted the trophy at Wembley Stadium following a 2-0 victory over title rivals Arsenal, courtesy of a second-half brace from 21-year-old Nico O’Reilly.
With Pep Guardiola’s men seeing out the contest, Foden was introduced off the bench in the 90th minute, replacing Rayan Cherki.
The English international has found regular game time hard to come by during the second half of the season, starting only four of City’s past 13 matches in all competitions.
Foden: ‘There are ups and downs’
Foden, who has not scored in his past 20 appearances dating back to mid-December, admitted after the final that football was not all plain sailing.
He said: “Football sometimes is not straightforward.
“There are ups and downs and sometimes you can’t be the best version of yourself and that’s the way it is.
“It’s just about how you pick yourself back up. I’m still keeping my head down, trying to train as well as I can every day.
“Hopefully I come back after the internationals a lot sharper and hopefully I can get more minutes and be back to where I was at the start of the season.”
‘A charity sub’
Rooney, speaking on the Wayne Rooney Show, expressed sympathy for Foden, saying things are “tough” for the 25-year-old at the moment.
“I felt sad for him [Foden] but not sad because he is coming on in a cup final.
“There was a game a few days ago when he didn’t even get on the pitch. If that was Max Dowman coming on at the end, you would think good experience. But to see Phil Foden coming on in a cup final, it felt like a charity sub to get him on the pitch.
“I don’t know what has happened, he is a top player. It feels strange he can’t get anywhere near the team. It feels like something has gone on there.
“I thought Foden was in good form but all of a sudden we haven’t seen him get any minutes. Firstly he will be pleased they won the cup but from a selfish point of view, he would have wanted to be out there and having an influence.
“That will be a tough one for him.”
Foden will be hoping to play a more prominent role as City chase down the Gunners for the Premier League title, while he will also have one eye on trying to secure a spot in the England squad for the World Cup this summer.
He has been named in Thomas Tuchel’s 35-man squad for the Three Lions’s two international games with Uruguay and Japan at Wembley Stadium at the end of March.
