Hat-trick hero Foden stars as Man City thrash AEK Athens
Phil Foden bagged a hat-trick as dominant Manchester City cruised to a 5-1 win over AEK Athens to claim their second Champions League victory of the campaign.
Match report as Phil Foden scored a superb hat-trick in a dominant Manchester City win; the hosts played without Erling Haaland, who was named on the bench but did not come on; Elliot Anderson and Rayan Cherki were also on target
Phil Foden bagged a hat-trick as dominant Manchester City cruised to a 5-1 win over AEK Athens to claim their second Champions League victory of the campaign.
Foden had waited 10 months for a goal before four arrived in back-to-back outings, adding to his strike against Ipswich at the weekend with three tidy finishes, the first two from Rico Lewis assists.
Man City had far too much quality for their Greek visitors despite leaving Erling Haaland in the stands, with Enzo Maresca allowing 17-year-old Floyd Samba to deputise in his place. Maresca proved his point in doing so: City have many other means of scoring beyond Haaland.
Elliot Anderson was also on target in a dominant first half that included 10 efforts on Alberto Brignoli's goal, with Allan striking the crossbar and Rayan Cherki going close.
AEK failed to land a shot on target until Stavros Pilios pulled a goal back early in the second period. But their hope was short-lived. Cherki scored City's third five minutes later to kill any suggestion of a comeback and Foden issued another timely reminder of his class by completing a statement hat-trick.
The last time Foden scored three times in the same game was April 2024. It's felt like a lifetime since the City Academy graduate, a known favourite of Pep Guardiola, was anywhere near his dazzling best. His latest display was somewhere close to perfect.
12: GOAL! Anderson steers home the rebound from Enzo Fernandez' free-kick for his first club goal.
23: CROSSBAR! Allan crashes a fierce effort off the woodwork as City threaten again.
34: GOAL! Foden combines neatly with Lewis and stabs beyond Alberto Brignoli.
52: GOAL! Pilios gives AEK a lifeline with a well-taken strike across Gianluigi Donnarumma.
57: GOAL! Cherki finds the bottom corner to kill any AEK momentum.
65: GOAL! Lewis tees up Foden and he guides the ball into the top corner with a wonderful finish.
76: GOAL! Ryan McAidoo offers Foden the chance to complete his hat-trick with an easy tap-in.
"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."
"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."
