Phil Foden scored a hat-trick as Manchester City recorded an emphatic 5-1 victory over AEK Athens in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday.
The England international delivered an outstanding performance at the Etihad Stadium, while Elliot Anderson and Rayan Cherki also found the net to help City secure their second Champions League win of the campaign.
Foden’s impressive display followed his goal against Ipswich at the weekend, marking a significant turnaround after a lengthy spell without scoring.
He had gone 10 months without a goal before finding the net in consecutive appearances.
The midfielder scored twice in the first half, with Rico Lewis providing the assists, before completing his hat-trick after the break.
City’s attacking strength was evident despite the absence of Erling Haaland, who was named among the substitutes but did not feature.
Manager Enzo Maresca instead handed 17-year-old Floyd Samba an opportunity to lead the attack.
The hosts dominated proceedings from the opening stages, creating numerous opportunities and registering 10 attempts on goal in the first half alone.
Anderson opened the scoring in the 12th minute, finishing the rebound after Enzo Fernandez’s free-kick to register his first goal in City colours.
City continued to apply pressure, with Allan hitting the crossbar as the home side threatened to extend their advantage.
Foden doubled the lead in the 34th minute after combining effectively with Lewis before slotting the ball past AEK goalkeeper Alberto Brignoli.
The hosts went into the break firmly in control, having demonstrated their superiority in possession and attacking play.
AEK Athens briefly threatened a comeback seven minutes into the second half when Stavros Pilios struck past Gianluigi Donnarumma in the 52nd minute.
However, City quickly restored their two-goal cushion. Cherki found the bottom corner five minutes later, ending any hopes of a sustained revival from the Greek visitors.
Foden then increased the advantage in the 65th minute, finishing brilliantly after another assist from Lewis to move closer to his hat-trick.
The midfielder completed the milestone in the 76th minute when Ryan McAidoo created the opportunity for him to score an easy tap-in, sealing a memorable individual performance.
The victory extended City’s impressive run to 10 wins in 12 matches across all competitions this season, with only Barcelona recording more victories among teams from Europe’s top five leagues.
Maresca backs Foden to rediscover his best form
City manager Enzo Maresca praised Foden’s quality and expressed confidence that the midfielder would continue to improve.
On Foden, he said, “I’ve said since day one, I consider him one of the best English players. For different reasons, in the last two years, he was not good enough. But I know how good he is. We are trying to help him because we are sure he’s going to help us.”
Reflecting on the team’s performance, Maresca said: “It was not easy, especially after the PSG game. We had two games that we certainly needed to win, and we did our job.
“I’m also happy because some of the players have not been playing many minutes, but they were ready. This is important. It is the best feeling for any manager when you make many changes but the performance is still good.”
Foden targets further improvement
Despite his three-goal contribution, Foden insisted he still had work to do before returning to his best level.
Speaking to TNT Sports, the City forward said, “I enjoyed that a lot. We showed determination again; it wasn’t pretty at times, giving sloppy passes away, but I thought we stuck at the game plan, we kept going, and in the end we broke them down.
“I’ve still got a long way [before I’m back at my best], but I’m going in the right direction and scoring along the way. It definitely helps.
“I just want to keep working hard and trying to be the best I can for the manager and for the team.”
AEK boss admits City were superior
AEK Athens manager Marko Nikolic acknowledged that his team struggled to contain City’s attacking quality and admitted his players may have shown excessive respect for their opponents.
Nikolic said, “We didn’t want to sit back and try to survive, like I said before the game. We wanted to be dangerous with the ball.
“But of course the quality in the finishing phase from City was brutal. These guys were much better in the final third than us. They punished every mistake. A deserved victory for City.
“AEK is only playing Champions League group phase for the second time in 20 years; we’re trying to compete. Maybe we showed too much respect for our opponent.”
The result underlined City’s attacking depth and offered further encouragement to Maresca as Foden continued his return to form.
With contributions from several players and Haaland remaining unused, City demonstrated their ability to produce an emphatic performance without relying on their prolific Norwegian striker.
