Phil Foden and Mason Mount are both looking to become the second-youngest Englishman to score in a European Cup final. Richard Jolly looks at the numbers behind their breakthrough seasons.
Manchester United’s first European Cup came in the 1960s and Manchester City’s may come in the 2020s, but there is a common denominator between neighbours. Brian Kidd was a young forward in 1968 for the red half and is a veteran assistant for the blue side in 2021.
He has another distinction. Kidd, who struck on his 19th birthday for Sir Matt Busby’s team against Benfica, remains the youngest Englishman to score in a European Cup final.
UEFA Champions League final
Kick-off time: 20:00 BST, Saturday
TV channel: BT Sport 1
Manchester City 17/20 | Draw 12/5 | Chelsea 7/2
By Saturday evening, the second youngest could be either Phil Foden or Mason Mount. The Euro 2020 team-mates are rivals this weekend, each looking for a crowning achievement after what has been a breakthrough year. Mount has been named Chelsea’s player of the season. Foden should win the PFA prize for young players.
There have been markers of progress. Foden scored in both legs of City’s quarter-final win over Borussia Dortmund. Mount did a different double, scoring in both the last eight, against Porto, and the last four, versus Real Madrid.
At 21, Foden has won eight major trophies and is on the brink of another feat. He is only one goal behind Ilkay Gundogan in all competitions. The top scorers in seasons played under Pep Guardiola are an elite band: Lionel Messi (four times), Mario Mandzukic, Robert Lewandowski (twice), Sergio Aguero (three times) and Raheem Sterling. Now it could be Foden.
Foden now makes the difference
Often seen as a passer on his emergence, he has actually had the joint most shots in the Champions League this season, along with Karim Benzema. Foden’s emergence as an attacker is reflected in other numbers: he averages 0.78 non-penalty goals and assists per 90 minutes in the Premier League, the best of City’s star-studded side.
What is expected goals (xG)?
- Expected goals (xG) is a metric that measures the quality of any given scoring opportunity
- Expected goals for (xGF) is the xG created by a team
- Expected goals against (xGA) is xG conceded by a team
He finished the season with a goal or an assist every 114 minutes, which is remarkably good for someone who is neither a striker nor a penalty taker. Foden’s prowess as a finisher is increasingly notable: his nine goals came from an xG of 5.3; across the division only 10 players overperformed their xG by more.
In the Champions League, only six players were responsible for more shot-creating actions and only five had a higher expected assists. Most remarkably, he tops the chart for goal-creating actions. He can find himself rubbing shoulders with the modern-day giants. He has the second most touches in the penalty area, behind only Kylian Mbappe, and the most in the final third, 60 clear of Lionel Messi. His dribbling prowess is shown in another chart: for progressive carries of at least five yards or into the box, it is Messi first and then Foden second. For progressive passes received, he ranks second only to Mohamed Salah.
Mount has thrived under Tuchel
Assessing Mount is tougher; he has had a season of two halves. He was used in midfield predominantly by Frank Lampard – and, unlike Foden, is likely to be deployed there by Gareth Southgate – while Thomas Tuchel has generally picked him in the front three.
In the Tuchel era, Mount stands out as an attacker. He is Chelsea’s joint top scorer in the Premier League (with four) and has been directly involved in the most goals (six). He has had the most shots, with his average of 3.11 per 90 minutes behind only Kai Havertz, and the most key passes, an average of 2.58 per 90 bettered only by Hakim Ziyech. His expected assists, of 5.20, is far better than anyone else’s at Stamford Bridge (his actual assists tally of two reflects some poor finishing) and the fourth best in the division in that time.
He has been Chelsea’s most consistently creative player. Indeed, without being particularly flashy, he has been one of the Premier League’s most productive: only Bruno Fernandes produced more shot-creating actions over the whole season and only Kevin de Bruyne, Jack Grealish and Ziyech averaged more per 90 minutes.
Neither are shy of working for the cause - to England's benefit?
The other important element for managers such as Guardiola and Tuchel is that each can be trusted to do his defensive duties. Foden is responsible for the second most successful pressures in the Champions League, Mount for the third most in the Premier League (and in fewer minutes than Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and James Ward-Prowse, the only men ahead of him).
Mount ranked 36th for tackles and interceptions, but no one else in the top 50 spent as much time playing in the front three. His number of pressures (successful and unsuccessful) was, at 687, more than 200 higher than anyone else at Chelsea. He is a one-man pressing machine. Only N’Golo Kante won more tackles for Chelsea. He is multiple players in one, near the top of Chelsea’s attacking and defensive statistics.
It sets the tone for Euro 2020, where Mount could be the most advanced of England’s three midfielders and Foden part of the front three. Each seems to have levered himself into Gareth Southgate’s first-choice team, despite a host of other talents. But then it is perhaps unsurprising when this feels the season when each has established himself as a player who looks at home alongside Europe’s best.
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