Foden says City must win every game
After Manchester City dropped points at Newcastle, Phil Foden said: "All we can do is win every game. It's going to be a big challenge."
Phil Foden says Manchester City must set their sights on the daunting task of winning every remaining Premier League game this season after they slipped 11 points behind leaders Liverpool.
A 2-2 draw at Newcastle United, who twice came from behind on Saturday, saw Pep Guardiola's champions fail to win for the fifth time in 14 league fixtures. Liverpool, by contrast, have dropped only two points and a subsequent 2-1 home win for the Reds over Brighton and Hove Albion boosted their already considerable advantage over City.
Guardiola has urged his side to stop thinking about the title race and instead divert all their energy into claiming victories in each individual game. City won their final 14 league games last term to pip Liverpool to top spot and Foden knows a similar streak is now required as they approach a hectic period in the domestic calendar.
"It's not in our hands now. All we can do is win every game. It's going to be a big challenge for us," said the 19-year-old, who came off the bench as a second-half replacement for David Silva at St James' Park. I think [December] is the most important time of the season. Teams usually drop points. It's going to be interesting. All we can do now is to try to win all our games and see where it takes us."
Foden acknowledged Jonjo Shelvey's superb 88th-minute equaliser represented a painful blow for a City side who had not long retaken the lead through a magnificent Kevin De Bruyne half-volley.
"We thought that [De Bruyne's goal] was going to be the winner," he added. "But they kept going and they managed to score a great strike in the end, unfortunately for us. We were all gutted in the changing room. We need to move forward and focus on our next games."