Phil Foden v Callum Hudson-Odoi - Who had better first start?
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Updated 04/04/2019 at 13:05 GMT
Phil Foden and Callum Hudson-Odoi both made their first Premier League starts on the same day, but how did the two talented youngsters fare? Ben Grounds assesses the full debutants…
Phil Foden and Callum Hudson-Odoi
Image credit: Eurosport
It was entirely fitting - given that it was Hudson-Odoi who assisted both of Foden's goals in the 2017 Under-17 World Cup final. And when it finally came, neither disappointed.
Pep Guardiola fielded Manchester City's youngest side in eight years, but they still leap-frogged Liverpool and returned to the top of the Premier League on Wednesday night with a comfortable 2-0 win over Cardiff at the Etihad Stadium.
Hudson-Odoi, meanwhile, provided the assist for Olivier Giroud to break the deadlock in Chelsea's 3-0 victory over Brighton at Stamford Bridge. In so doing, he became the youngest player to assist a Premier League goal this season.
Foden was absent from the City’s matchday squad for the 2-0 victory over Fulham at Craven Cottage on Saturday - but the 18-year-old's first start certainly lived up to expectations.
The England Under-21 international told Sky Sports before the match: "I'm trying to keep focused. I've been waiting for this moment.
"I'll just look to help the lads out and play with a smile on my face. I'll just try to keep it simple and play the way I always have."
Foden was true to his word, always seeking to find pockets of space and a team-mate when immediately in possession.
The youngster wasn’t afraid to give Kevin de Bruyne a rollicking in the opening five minutes when the Belgian opted to go alone down the left when he was placed in a better position inside the box.
Foden was alive throughout the opening stages as he found Aymeric Laporte down the left in the build-up to De Bruyne’s opener after six minutes, while Hudson-Odoi provided a couple of nice lay-offs to team-mates during a quieter first 10 minutes, deployed by Sarri down the right.
That soon changed as on a lightning quick counter-attack, N’Golo Kante drove from midfield to find the youngster cutting in onto his left foot, with his shot deflecting off Shane Duffy and looping over Mat Ryan’s crossbar.
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Hudson-Odoi didn't disappoint on his first Premier League start
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The chance visibly peaked Hudson-Odoi’s interest as he instantly produced a wonderful switch of play to Eden Hazard, with Emerson’s cross on the overlap just evading Olivier Giroud at the near post.
As Chelsea began to assert themselves, so the England new boy grew more influential up against Gaetan Bong. Solly March rattled the side-netting after 19 minutes, and the incident highlighted the slight difference in tactical instructions being asked of the two English youngsters.
Foden often received the ball deep in City's own half to begin attacks, providing Oleksandr Zinchenko with greater protection in his role on the left of a three-man midfield, while Hudson-Odoi was not handed any defensive responsibilities - something he had been by Gareth Southgate during Montenegro's lively start in Podgorica last week.
Sarri was critical of his player in those opening 20 minutes, but despite being selected on the right – and being told to focus on what he does best – Hudson-Odoi showed his good defensive awareness to retrieve possession midway through the half, bringing warm applause from the home fans.
Brighton were once more alert to thwart Giroud as Duffy made a vital block after Hudson-Odoi ran onto Hazard’s brilliant flick down the channel.
Hudson-Odoi continued to impress down the right as his trickery helped him escape substitute Anthony Knockaert before his stood-up cross was headed over by Cesar Azpilicueta after half an hour.
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Olivier Giroud shows his delight at meeting Hudson-Odoi's cross to score the opener
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Moments later at the Etihad, Lee Peltier was forced to haul down Foden on the edge of the box, earning him at yellow card after a bright run from the academy graduate.
Hudson-Odoi then had his moment. He had been asking lots of questions of Brighton’s left side and having kept his width to receive Hazard’s pass, there was always only going to be one winner against Knockaert.
After knocking the ball past the Frenchman, Giroud was on hand at the near post to direct his shot beyond Ryan, and the striker was quick to congratulate Hudson-Odoi for his excellent wide play.
In the final minute of normal time in the opening period, Hudson-Odoi saw the stars light up as he received Hazard’s cross at the far post but he got his shot all wrong as he screwed it into the ground and ended up in a heap off the pitch, to the amusement of the away fans – but it didn’t affect his confidence.
Foden had his golden moment six minutes into the restart as he ran onto Fernandinho's pass. His first touch was perfect, but Neil Etheridge managed to narrow the angle and save low down to his right. It brought disappointment to his face - but his manager urged him on from the sidelines.
Guardiola was only too happy to blood the youngster from the start in the Premier League for the first time in one of seven changes, which included record signing Riyad Mahrez.
He said prior to the match: "We don't have any doubts that he will be able to play given his qualities. We have a lot of games so we have to use our full squad. We have already seen what he can do this season."
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Foden comes close to scoring but he was denied in the second-half
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Foden was linked with a loan move to Bundesliga outfit RB Leipzig last week due to his lack of first-team opportunities, but the club have reiterated their desire to keep hold of the academy graduate.
He has impressed already this season in cup competitions, scoring six goals in his previous 23 appearances - but his last outing came over three weeks ago in the 7-0 demolition of Schalke in the Champions League.
Guardiola has stressed he will need the full complement of his squad during the run-in, with City still battling on three fronts as they bid to complete an unprecedented quadruple - and Foden continued to show his qualities in the second period.
It was his pin-point cross that Laporte ought to have headed home, but Etheridge saved well once more from close range to keep the score at 2-0.
Meanwhile at the Bridge, Hudson-Odoi met Jorginho’s measured deep cross, ghosting off the back of Bong to have his point-blank header saved by Ryan.
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Hudson-Odoi produced a lively display down the right for Chelsea
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Hazard doubled Chelsea’s lead on the hour-mark to show his younger team-mate how to finish, but it was notable that neither Hudson-Odoi nor Foden drifted out of the game in the final half an hour when others may have been affected by missed opportunities.
For Chelsea, Ruben Loftus-Cheek took centre stage, adding to his assist for Hazard by curling a sublime strike into the corner – while Hudson-Odoi was busy keeping the width to the right.
Foden wasn't finished, coming even closer to marking his first start with a goal as his snap-shot from a corner cannoned back out off the post, and he then immediately cut onto his left foot from the edge of the box to force Etheridge into another good save high to his right.
It brought a smile from the youngster, as he promised he would, on a night that both he and Hudson-Odoi will cherish for the rest of their careers.
WHAT THEY SAID
Hudson-Odoi won seven duels, providing his assist from four chances created in the match, and he said afterwards: "I am very happy for the win and we all worked hard. We had to get rhythm and bounced back well. Today we got told the team and had to prepare mentally.
"The manager told me to go and express myself. I feel comfortable, hopefully I did well."
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Hudson-Odoi celebrates after Eden Hazard makes it 2-0
Image credit: Getty Images
Foden had three opportunities to score in total, but after running 11.9km and having five shots in total - more than any other player - he remained pleased with his contribution.
He told Sky Sports: "It was good to get the start. It was a dream come true to start in the Premier League. I think I needed a bit of Kev's luck to score.
"I think I did well. A little mistake at the end, something to learn. It's great to learn from Kevin and David [Silva] in this position, and this is a learning process."
OUR VERDICT
With City hosting struggling Cardiff and Chelsea facing a Brighton side with one eye on an FA Cup semi-final, this was the perfect opportunity for Sarri and Guardiola to hand their wonderkids a first Premier League start.
Neither let the side down and showed their immense talent – especially in the first half. But it will not be on evenings such as these that the two will ultimately be judged.
Were they more experienced professionals, both will have received stiffer criticism for missed chances that ultimately didn’t prove costly.
Nevertheless, this marked a major milestone for two players destined to play a big part in the future of the national team, but more opportunities such as these will need to be afforded if they are to develop at their respective current clubs.
Both Hudson-Odoi and Foden showed they are at home at this level. On a night when there was a chasm in quality between 'the haves' and 'the have-nots' in the Premier League, this particular duel was a dead heat.
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