Foden: We knew that Haaland was there before passing the ball. The opponent was sent off one person early and it will be helpful to us.

Football 6:50pm, 19 September 2025 126

After defeating Napoli 2-0 in the first round of the Champions League phase, Manchester City midfielder Foden said in an interview with TNT that overall, this is a solid performance.

About Haaland

-He seems to be breaking every record, and at his age, what he does is unprecedented. If he continues to perform like this, I don't think anyone can break the record he's going to set.

About this game

-The first half was a bit frustrating, and I didn't get much touch opportunities due to the opponent's excellent defense in the midfield. But I know that as the pace of the game accelerates in the second half, I will have that chance or two to do something while getting the ball.

I can turn around, this is what we have been practicing in training, and Haaland always runs like that. I knew he was there before I passed the ball, so the key was to build this understanding and try to do it again. Hopefully he can score more goals and I can continue to assist him.

About Naples

—It was a perfect start—we beat a very strong opponent 2-0. Obviously, they were sent off one person early, which helped us. But they are a team that is difficult to deal with, and we have seen this today.

Their formation is compact, with a deep defense line, and gives us very limited space. The key is to grasp the timing of passing the ball and break through the defense line. I think we were pretty smart and didn’t easily concede the ball in the dangerous area, which was a solid performance overall.