Phil Foden joins elite club of four that Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo aren't in

Yesterday at 04:16 PM

Phil Foden’s first goal of the season was one that has seen him join a rather elite club.

The Manchester City star found the back of the net during City’s clash with Slovan Bratislava – the second goal of the night for Pep Guardiola’s side.

As well as being a well-taken left-footed effort that found the bottom corner of the net, Foden’s strike meant that he has now scored in each of the last seven Champions League campaigns.

Having first netted in the competition in 2018/19, the midfielder has been a hugely consistent presence in front of goal for Man City.

In doing so, Foden became one of only four players to score in each of the last seven Champions League campaigns.

The other players in this elite list are Robert Lewandowski, Kylian Mbappe and Antoine Griezmann.

Notable omissions from the list are Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.

Of course Ronaldo and Messi are two of the most decorated stars in Champions League history, but they miss out on the list having not played in the tournament since 2022 and 2023 respectively.

For Foden, the hope will be that this goal can kickstart his 2024/25 campaign.

The 24-year-old enjoyed a glorious season for Man City last term in which he scored 27 goals and provided 12 assists in all competitions.

This included five goals in eight Champions League games as City made it to the quarter-finals where they were eliminated by Real Madrid.

Having won the competition in 2023, City will be desperate to go all the way once again as part of the tournament’s first ever new-look League Phase set-up.

Foden’s goal came just seven minutes after Ilkay Gundogan gave City an early lead over Slovan Bratislava, with Foden making it 2-0.

Erling Haaland scored City’s third of the evening on 58 minutes to put Guardiola’s men firmly in control.