Pep Guardiola was full of praise for Kalvin Phillips after Manchester City’s win at Bristol City on Tuesday night, despite admitting the midfielder still needs ‘rhythm’ following his return from injury.
Phillips impressed for City as they cruised into the FA Cup quarter-finals, with Phil Foden’s brace and a Kevin de Bruyne strike wrapping up a comfortable 3-0 victory in Bristol.
It was a huge step forward for the £45million England international, whose debut season at the Etihad has been marred by injury problems, and Guardiola insisted he ‘played more than well’ at Ashton Gate.
Despite only featuring 11 times this term, the City boss is adamant he can rely on Phillips as they head into the business end of the campaign.
‘It’s not easy when you don’t play much. To play good in these kind of games is not easy but he played more than well,’ Guardiola said.
Pep Guardiola was full of praise for Kalvin Phillips after Manchester City’s win at Bristol City
Phillips impressed for City as they cruised into the FA Cup quarter-finals on Tuesday night
Guardiola is adamant he can rely on the midfielder in the business end of the campaign
‘Of course he needs rhythm but it was important to give Rodri time. We need him and we can rely on him and we will need him. That is the most important thing.’
Another player who returned to the fold and impressed for City on Tuesday night was Phillips’ fellow England star Phil Foden, who has been frequently forced to settle for a place on the bench of late.
Yet after being brought back into the side Foden showed what Guardiola has been missing by finding the back of the net twice against Bristol in a masterful performance.
‘I said last week that we don’t have any doubts about Phil,’ said Guardiola. ‘The impact of Phil since he has arrived has been flabbergasting. He has been awesome, getting better and better.
‘He has struggled a little bit with the ankle, but he doesn’t complain. He wants to train, he wants to play, play with problems.
‘But it’s not about the goal he scored in the last game (at Bournemouth), or the two goals he scored today. It’s about how aggressive he is and how he does things.
‘He has done it again, his work ethic, the way he trained. Every single action is 100 per cent and at the end it will pay off.’