Phil Foden showed Jack Grealish how to handle Atletico tricks & what’s needed to be a Man City stalwart

Phil Foden may be Jack Grealish’s junior by five years, but it’s the younger star who is demonstrating everything that it takes to become a Manchester City stalwart.

The ‘Stockport Iniesta’ endured one of the toughest nights of his fledgling senior career so far at the Wanda Metropolitano, when he was kicked from pillar to post by Atletico Madrid’s brutish defenders.

Within the first few minutes he was clobbered by Felipe, while the Atleti centre-back picked up a second booking late on for a kick out at Foden.

But it was water off a duck’s back for City’s No.47, who was pictured chuckling near the sidelines at one stage, in response to Diego Simeone’s passionate display in the Atletico technical area.

Those unsavoury scenes from the hosts marred what was a hugely enjoyable game, as the Spanish champions took their footballing dark arts beyond the point most see as acceptable, to a level of uncontrollable chaos for the officials during injury-time.

It was a sign they’d lost any supremacy in the tie, that City were on the verge of progressing, which they did with a 0-0 draw, setting up a Champions League semi-final showdown against Real Madrid.

Clearly, Atletico were furious, as several players and staff struggled to contain their emotions at the end. Felipe was sent off, Stefan Savic should have received a similar punishment for a headbutt on Raheem Sterling, while the distasteful scenes continued down the tunnel after the full-time whistle.

And front and centre of it all was Jack Grealish.

A time for calm & composure

In Grealish’s defence, he, like Foden, was clearly a marked man by the Atleti players. The former Aston Villa captain was fouled five times after coming on in the 68th minute of the first leg, a game where three opposition players were booked for fouls on him.

Savic was even seen pulling Grealish’s hair at the Etihad, something he evidently hadn’t forgotten during the second leg in Madrid.

During the melee which ensued from Felipe’s red card and Savic’s headbutt, Grealish made a beeline for the former City defender, who responded to a rather unpleasant insult by again tugging at those luscious blonde locks.

The feud wasn’t over either. After the full-time whistle their exchange continued down the tunnel, with Savic being restrained from reaching the England international.

Admittedly, the Atletico man was certainly the aggressor, and Grealish did not deserve the sort of teenage-bully tactics exhibited by Savic, but the City winger often doesn’t help himself in these sorts of situations.

In fact, John Stones had been attempting to cool things down during the match, before Grealish headed over and only succeeding in escalating it further. And while few seem sure what happened in the tunnel after the game, video footage on social media clearly shows the ex-Villa man continuing his dispute with Savic as the players headed towards the dressing rooms.

It couldn’t be in greater contrast to the nonchalant Foden, who had more reason that anyone to protest at Atletico’s on-field actions

But if there is one City star who embodies how best to deal with such unpleasant tactics, it’s Fernandinho. The experienced Brazilian was introduced late on and showed the sort of leadership needed in order to coolly run the clock down.

It was the City skipper who ultimately dragged Foden back onto the pitch following that fracas, ensuring the game couldn’t immediately continue, while he won an important free-kick that managed to eat up time in the final 10 minutes, and again demonstrated the art of knowing when and how to commit a foul.

Gaining Guardiola’s trust

There’s another difference between Foden and Fernandinho and Grealish, the latter didn’t actually get a run out on Wednesday.

Foden was selected from the off, while Fernandinho was chosen to come on in the latter stages as City continued to contain the Atletico onslaught.

Meanwhile, there was clearly no indication that Pep Guardiola planned to introduce Grealish, even for Riyad Mahrez, who was beginning to tire in the final minutes.

But this is an issue which runs deeper for Grealish, who it must be said, has played better in recent months than he did at the start of the season.

The winger has been given time to adapt to City’s multi-faceted system and is showing signs of development and greater understanding, but at the business-end of the campaign, Grealish has been forced to settle for a spot on the bench in all of the last three games.

Those fixtures happen to be among the biggest of the Sky Blues’ season to date, with both legs against Atletico sandwiched either side of the Liverpool match at the Etihad last weekend.

In all three, City needed to limit spaces, track back and, in general, put in a disciplined display. Therefore, it’s a concern Guardiola decided the £100m man wasn’t in his ideal XI across the trio of crucial matches.

Lesson to be learnt

A perceived lack of defensive awareness has cost Grealish minutes before, not least for England at last summer’s Euros, where the 26-year-old was mainly introduced in games where the Three Lions were in need of a game-changing moment.

That’s not to say Grealish can’t or won’t develop these qualities in years to come, and Guardiola has repeatedly spoken about how often his players need a year to adapt to the demands of first-team football under his stewardship.

But the alarming aspect for City is that evidently Grealish isn’t trusted to carry out that role now, especially with Kevin De Bruyne hobbling off at the Wanda Metropolitano.

This in a game where Guardiola warned his players after the first leg to remain cool and avoid reacting to Atletico’s sordid tactics.

Foden didn’t. Sterling stayed cool after a headbutt. Stones calmed things down. Fernandinho ate up vital minutes. Grealish only added fuel to the flames.

It’s a lesson English football’s most expensive star must learn from.