Micah Richards has heaped praise on Phil Foden after his hat-trick display for
Manchester City . City earned a 4-1 victory over Aston Villa to keep pace with their rivals in the
Premier League title race. After Unai Emery’s side drew level in the first half, Foden’s goals proved to be the difference for the Treble winners in a sparkling performance at the Etihad Stadium . Analysing Foden’s influence on the game, former City defender Micah Richards described the midfielder as having an 'abundance of talent'. The 23-year-old was handed the opportunity to thrive in a number 10 role against Villa, having been used on both wings throughout the season. READ MORE: What Phil Foden did after hat-trick goal for Man City vs Aston Villa shows why he is world class READ MORE: Man City injury latest after Aston Villa as
Liverpool and
Arsenal dealt fresh blow in title race Speaking on Match of the Day , the former City man said: “He’s an absolute delight, isn’t he? The thing is with Phil Foden, we’ve talked about him playing on the left and talked about him playing on the right and he can do it, but when he’s in that number ten role he really is something different. “The interesting thing about him, and he’s talked about it in various interviews, is sometimes when he got in those positions he was rushing it a little bit,” he added. “The fact of having someone like Kevin De Bruyne in the squad as well, I wouldn’t say it hinders him but it puts him under a lot more pressure when he performs in this number ten role. “You see him driving into the box, finding the space, and from the Arsenal game when he was out on the left, this was a big game for him today. Could he provide something? Could he thread those balls through? Could he score goals? And when he gets in there, he doesn’t even think about it, the first thing he thinks is, let's have a shot on target and he did this throughout the game. Speaking about Foden’s impressive finish for his hat-trick, Richards added: “The thing I love about this is reaction, we know how Man City want to get the ball back as soon as possible, and then wow. What a finish for his hat trick, he is world-class, without doubt, world-class.” Foden has registered 31 goal contributions across 44 games in all competitions this season as
Pep Guardiola ’s side chase a possible five trophies. City’s win keeps them a point behind Arsenal in the league table and level with Liverpool , who take on Sheffield United tonight.