The beaming smile on his face after every City win might suggest otherwise but Phillips has endured a very difficult debut season since his summer transfer.
Early injuries hampered his progress in learning to play in Guardiola's side and he has hardly had a kick since.
The midfielder has played a meagre 404 minutes all season and has made as many starts for England over the last year as he has for his new club.
Even the vast majority of his substitute cameos have been sub10-minute affairs with the Blues three goals to the good.
It's little surprise given the most minutes he has played in a Premier League game this season, 37 minutes against Leicester, were calamitous. Guardiola probably thought City were safe while 3-0 up but Phillips was poor for Leicester's consolation and the Foxes had great opportunities to draw level.
This story is from the May 20, 2023 edition of Manchester Evening News.
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This story is from the May 20, 2023 edition of Manchester Evening News.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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