City boss Maresca had predicted a goalscoring return for the midfielder in his first appearance since being sent off in last month’s Manchester derby, and Foden duly delivered with the opener in Saturday’s 3-2 win over Ipswich.

Supporters at the Etihad Stadium waved inflatable bananas in a show of defiance amid the ongoing storm surrounding the club, reviving a craze that became synonymous with City in the 1980s and 90s.

The gesture appeared to have won the approval of the players, with Foden carrying one of the bananas into his post-match interviews.

“I’ll give it to my son later,” he said, before reflecting on Maresca’s pre-match prediction.

“I don’t know what he’s seen but thanks to him for saying that. I think it gave me a lot of confidence and I’m thankful to repay him with a goal.

“It’s been such a long time since I last played, so I’ve had to just remain patient, keep training very hard and to wait for my moment.

“I’m so thankful that I managed to get on the scoresheet and get the three points today.”

Foden received an automatic three-match ban for his red card against United but, with an international break during which he was overlooked for England selection, his absence lasted five weeks.

He wasted no time in making an impact, turning home the opening goal after 19 minutes.

Ipswich replied quickly through Daizen Maeda but an Erling Haaland double restored City’s advantage.

The game looked over when Haaland rattled in what he thought was his third, only for two VAR interventions – first to disallow his hat-trick and then to award Ipswich a penalty – to set up a tense finish.

Zian Flemming converted the spot-kick but Ipswich could not force an equaliser during 12 minutes of stoppage time and City won for the second time since an independent commission found the club guilty of breaching the Premier League’s financial rules.

Maresca also became the first manager in Premier League history to win his first seven games.

Foden said: “It wasn’t ideal how the game went. Obviously, there’s still a lot of things we can work on but the most important thing was the three points to put us in a good position in the league.

“We did that, so we’ve got to be proud of ourselves. We’ve had such a good start to the league and hopefully we can keep growing and keep getting better.

“They were a fantastic team but we stuck together and fought for each other and, in the end, that’s what paid off.”

Haaland limped off at full-time after a blow to the foot but Maresca said he was hopeful the problem was not serious. The Norwegian will be assessed before Tuesday’s game against AEK Athens.