Pep Guardiola believes Phil Foden’s devastating display against Liverpool on Sunday has heightened expectations of the Manchester City forward and set a benchmark the 20-year-old must maintain for years to be considered a great player. Foden was outstanding in the 4-1 win at Anfield and the City manager said it marked a significant step in the academy graduate’s development. Guardiola has told Foden that his performance will bring even more scrutiny but also showed he can achieve greatness if he reaches that level consistently. “It’s a different challenge for Phil now, not for me,” he said. “He has to be calm and to understand that tough periods are going to come. It depends if he’s humble, on his love for the game, the expectations, and we’ll see if he can handle it. Now people will expect him to do exceptional things every game but this is the most difficult thing. “Arrive and being there for 100 games is difficult, then 100 more, then 100 more at this level; arriving every day. That’s why the greatest players are not about one action at Anfield or some good games. They are about five years in a row staying consistent. This is the next target for Phil.” Guardiola’s handling of Foden’s career has been intensely debated and the manager insists there will be no change in how the player is treated. “Phil was competing at a young age with David Silva, Kevin De Bruyne, Raheem [Sterling], Sergio [Agüero], Gabriel [Jesus], and sometimes he played when he didn’t deserve to play. Normally we wanted to encourage Phil and then afterwards everyone talks a lot about him. “For one mistake he has done in his private life [on England duty] we know exactly what has happened. I said to him: ‘Don’t read much, don’t listen much, keep your feet on the grass’ … Now Phil just has to be calm. I know he is ready to play because his physical condition is extraordinary, his recovery and the way he runs without the ball. I’ll handle it the same way – when I believe he can help us he will play. If I feel another one deserves to play then he’s not going to play.” City face Swansea in the FA Cup on Wednesday seeking a 15th successive win in all competitions but Guardiola cited Liverpool as evidence of why his league leaders cannot become complacent. “Sport shows how quickly it can punish you,” he said. “Liverpool remains, in my point of view, one of the best teams I’ve ever seen in my life. They were able to make an incredible run of 68 games at home unbeaten, destroying teams, winning by a big margin or winning in the last minute, for two or three seasons without one defeat. And immediately, and you don’t know why, three games in a row defeat. Do you think that cannot happen to us? Of course it can happen.”