Michail Antonio has Sky Sports studio in stitches with Foden interview response

05 February 2024 , 22:45

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Michail Antonio speaking on Sky Sports

West Ham striker Michail Antonio brought a laugh out of Monday Night Football duo David Jones and Jamie Carragher after joking about "cutbacks" preventing Phil Foden receiving a man of the match trophy.

Foden was the star of the show at the Gtech Community Stadium as City closed the gap to league leaders Liverpool. Brentford had taken an early lead through Neal Maupay, only for Foden to equalise on the stroke of half-time before completing a hat-trick after the break.

After the match, Foden was interviewed about his exploits by Antonio, Jones and Carragher. However, he wasn't awarded a man of the match trophy, as has happened with other players to claim the award.

"What, no trophies, no?" Antonio asked. "You're not giving him no trophies? Is it cutbacks?" The comments drew loud laughter from the others in the studio, who were caught unawares by his comments.

"He's got enough trophies," presenter Jones replied. "He's on the way to another Premier League title, he's only 23 and he's got five already!"

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That wasn't enough to satisfy Antonio, though. The former Nottingham Forest man, who is West Ham's all-time Premier League top scorer, went on to say he and his fellow players always want recognition for their man of the match awards.

The studio team weren't the only ones to praise Foden after his match-winning display, with City boss Pep Guardiola telling BBC Sport : "He always had an eye for a goal. He's got 250 games already and he's had an impact with goals this season. He's incredible. His numbers are really good."

What did you make of Michail Antonio's punditry on Monday Night Football? Have your say in the comments section

Phil Foden scored all three of Manchester City's goals against Brentford (Nigel Keene/ProSports/REX/Shutterstock)

The victory in West London saw City extend their winning run to five games in the league and nine in all competitions. They are unbeaten in their last seven in the league, leaving them just two points behind leaders Liverpool with a game in hand.

"We had a lot of chances. The keeper was sensational," Guardiola said. "They are so dangerous from set plays, they are an incredible team in that concept. They press really high. The spaces in the pockets in these types of games are really important."

Reflecting on his own exploits, Foden told Sky Sports: "I'm really glad with my performances and am playing a lot of minutes inside, where I want to be, and I'm delighted with the way I'm playing. I'm playing the best form I've had in a City shirt consistently for a long time and long may that continue and I will keep working hard on the training ground."

Tom Victor