Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has insisted that both Riyad Mahrez and Phil Foden will get enough playing time with the Premier League champions this season.
The Sky Blues got back to winning ways, after their disappointment against Lyon during midweek, with a thumping 5-0 win in south Wales against newly promoted Cardiff City on Saturday.
Mahrez opened his account for the Premier League champions when he came off the bench in the second half and bagged a brace to complete an emphatic win for the visitors.
Foden, who won the Golden Ball award at the Under-17 World Cup in India last year, had a cameo off the bench as the Premier League champions ran riot against Neil Warnock’s men.
The duo are still only finding their feet in terms of nailing down a regular position in the first team, but made it a point to prove the fact that they are still capable of influencing the game whenever called upon.
Guardiola insisted after the game that both Mahrez and Foden will get their desired playing minutes at the Etihad this season and urged the duo to be always prepared to take their chance.
“Of course the goals are important for Riyad Mahrez. He came here, he’s an incredibly talented player”, Guardiola was quoted as saying by the BBC.
“He deserves to play more minutes, like Phil Foden.
“But the season is too long and they have to be ready, prepared, because they are going to play a lot of minutes”, he added.
Manchester City have two Premier League fixtures (Brighton and Liverpool), along with an EFL Cup clash (Oxford United) and a Champions League fixture (Hoffenheim) before October's international break.
