Forget Phil Foden, 98-touch teammate showed he is the actual regen of a Manchester City legend

Add as preferred source on Google

Manchester City are safely through to the fourth round of the Carabao Cup after running out 2-0 winners over Huddersfield Town.

Pep Guardiola promised a much-changed line-up, with Phil Foden and Nico O’Reilly the only two players to retain their spots from Sunday’s 1-1 draw against Arsenal.

Foden opened the scoring for Manchester City, firing into the bottom corner from outside the area in the 18th minute after good work from debutant Divine Mukasa.

Savinho then doubled City’s lead midway through the second half, emphatically firing in off the crossbar after being put through by the impressive Foden.

While Foden was the standout player on the night, another City ace delivered an impressive display that suggests he could be the actual regen of an Etihad icon.

Nico Gonzalez delivers Rodri-like display against Huddersfield

With City ringing the changes, Nico Gonzalez was handed his third start of the season in the trip to the John Smith’s Stadium.

The 23-year-old was superb on the night, playing numerous line-breaking passes and impressing when it came to winning the ball back.

Gonzalez finished the game with the joint-most chances created (three), including one big chance, along with six ball recoveries and three interceptions.

He also took 89 touches of the ball, completed 75 of his 80 passes, and won two of his four duels on the night.

What was interesting is that Gonzalez’s style of play on the night looked just like Rodri, one of Man City’s superstars and a player who can already be considered a club legend.

Rodri wasn’t great in his first season at City, but with Guardiola coaching him, he eventually became the world’s best in his position, earning himself last year’s Ballon d’Or.

It looks as though Guardiola is trying to do the same with Gonzalez, so it will be exciting to see how he continues to develop in the coming months and years.

READ MORE: Man City ready to start new contract talks with star who Erling Haaland called ‘amazing’

What Pep Guardiola was spotted doing with Nico Gonzalez at full-time

After the Huddersfield match, Guardiola and Gonzalez were spotted talking on the pitch, with the Man City boss seemingly coaching his player.

While managers can sometimes be seen telling off their players on the pitch if a performance was particularly flawed, it didn’t look like this was happening.

Assuming that Guardiola was providing constructive feedback from a coaching perspective, it’s a good sign as it shows that the manager really cares and believes in the player.

As good as Gonzalez was, he was a little slow moving the ball at times, and made a few wrong passing choices.

Perhaps Guardiola was explaining to him what Rodri would have done in his place?