Update: |Pep Guardiola’s X-rated outburst at Phil Foden that offers clue to Man City comeback News

Phil Foden will have bad memories of Crystal Palace but Manchester City’s next opponents can remind him that better days are around the corner.

With one win in four, Manchester City need to get their top four challenge back on track quickly. Crystal Palace will have no problems playing a role they are familiar with – Etihad Stadium party poopers.

Andros Townsend’s goal almost broke the North Stand net, while Palace stunned City last season with two late goals including Jean-Philippe Mateta’s injury time penalty to snatch a draw. They have lost just twice in their last six visits and went 2-0 up in one of those.

Long story short, it won’t be easy, and Guardiola will have that 2-2 draw last season firmly in his mind. So will supporters, and so will Phil Foden – who needlessly dived and allowed Palace their penalty. As shown in the ‘Together: Four in a row’ documentary, Guardiola let loose at Foden in the dressing room after the game.

“Phil, in the f***ing 18-yard box, you don’t touch the opponent. It’s unacceptable, Phil Foden, unacceptable!,” he roared before speaking to the team as a whole.

“You are to apologise. You are teenagers. I say something when we drop points against Tottenham and Liverpool? I say something? Tell me. I blame you? I say something? Here [pointing at his head], use it. Here, you have to use it! f***ing hell. f***ing hell.”

Guardiola referenced Foden’s penalty mishap to the media as well, defending him at first but later pointing to it as a moment where the academy graduate learned from his mistakes. He also apologised to his squad as a whole for his emotional outbursts in the dressing room after games.

After that draw, which left City three points behind Liverpool in last season’s title race right before the winter Club World Cup, Foden almost single-handedly dragged his side through the next few months and to an unprecedented fourth title in succession.

Foden won Player of the Year across the board and went into the Euros as England’s biggest hope. Guardiola later said he felt guilty about the Palace incident, saying: “He lost the ball, decelerates the action. He’s so young, he felt guilty, want edto solve it, [but] gives away the penalty. It was five against one or two. We talk about it, in that position in the box.

“It’s part of the process. At that moment he felt so bad, because he is an incredibly lovely guy. Lessons to learn, hopefully the last time to happen. It’s football, it’s human beings, sometimes it happens.”

In fairness to Foden, it hasn’t happened again. His struggles this season have been down to burnout and simply playing too many games, as well as arguably a degree of over-caution when he has played.

He has reigned in that raw creativity as his body has been unable to follow what his brain wants him to do. The Manchester derby this weekend was a prime example – he got into positions but something was missing. His overall form has been okay, but well below his standards of the year before.

So it’s probably useful to remember that last season didn’t go all his own way. There were downs and periods where he struggled – but he was able to take Guardiola’s feedback on board and put those to the back of his mind.

If the Palace moment was ‘part of the process’ and he fought back as Player of the Year, a full season of struggle should give him all the motivation he needs to come back better than ever when he’s ready.