Phil Foden hat-trick fires Manchester City to 5-1 Champions League rout of AEK Athens
Foden ends goal drought in style as City cruise past AEK
Phil Foden announced his return to form in emphatic fashion as Manchester City crushed AEK Athens 5-1 at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday night to claim their second Champions League win of the campaign. The England playmaker, whose confidence has been repeatedly questioned after a prolonged spell on the sidelines, struck a superb hat-trick — his first in a City shirt since April 2024 — to banish the memory of the side's recent heavy defeat by Paris Saint-Germain.
Enzo Maresca, the City manager, made eight changes from the weekend's Premier League win over Ipswich and took the calculated gamble of leaving Erling Haaland on the bench. In his place, the 17-year-old academy graduate Floyd Samba deputised — only the teenager's second senior appearance after he scored twice on his Carabao Cup debut against Norwich.
"Maybe a quiet night at the Etihad Stadium was what they needed all along," wrote the Guardian's correspondent, as the hosts played in front of half-full stands. AEK was, for many supporters, a game that could be missed in expectation of a simple victory over a team lacking global superstars, though the visiting fans in yellow and black created a party in their corner of the ground from two hours before kick-off.
Anderson opener sets the tone
City took the lead in the 12th minute when Enzo Fernández clipped a free-kick against the crossbar and Elliot Anderson followed up to steer the rebound into an empty net for his first club goal. Anderson's opener came in a dominant first half that included 10 efforts on Alberto Brignoli's goal.
The Brazilian debutant Allan was City's most entertaining outlet on the left, almost marking his second home appearance with a goal before crashing a fierce shot against the woodwork. Rico Lewis, the full-back who has struggled for minutes and almost left the club 16 months ago, then combined with Foden for the second, the academy graduate stabbing home neatly in the 34th minute.
AEK pulled a goal back in the 52nd minute through Stavros Pilios, who was fed by Zini after Abdukodir Khusanov drifted off, thrashing the ball across Gianluigi Donnarumma. But any hope of a revival was short-lived. Rayan Cherki restored City's two-goal cushion five minutes later with a precise finish into the bottom corner, the maverick Frenchman stepping up to be a leader in critical moments.
Foden completes the treble
Foden then issued "another timely reminder of his class," as Sky Sports described it, guiding Lewis's pass into the top corner in the 65th minute for his second. He completed his treble in the 76th minute, showing a striker's instinct to convert Ryan McAidoo's perfect cross — the biggest cheer of the night for the City Academy product.
"Foden had waited 10 months for a goal before four arrived in back-to-back outings," noted Sky, with the playmaker having scored his first goal since mid-December against Ipswich at the weekend. Maresca's selection proved a point: City have many other means of scoring beyond Haaland, who was named among the substitutes but did not come on.
The loss of Antoine Semenyo to an eight-week injury had complicated Maresca's planning, but Samba's deployment as an adept decoy allowed the more experienced players around him to show off their repertoire. With seven matches in 21 days, the evening offered fringe players such as Allan and the youngsters a chance to impress.
For Foden, the confidence is "clearly flooding back to a player who has spent too long watching on from the sidelines, especially considering the talent he possesses." The 5-1 scoreline, while flattering on a night of subdued home support, underlined that City's Champions League campaign is well and truly back on track.