Some footballers like to turn their heads away from history, the challenges it presents and the pressure it brings. Phil Foden doesn’t think that way. He wants to walk towards it.
For Foden and Manchester City, a shot at a Champions League defence and a successive treble have gone, ground into the dirt by Real Madrid’s refusal to buckle during an epic Etihad night on Wednesday.
But at City when one door closes, there is always another one to walk through. And for Foden and his team-mates a reminder of what remains possible over the next five weeks is writ large on the wall every time they lace up their boots.