Phil Foden scored a hat-trick, underlining his
long-awaited return to form, as Manchester City crushed AEK Athens 5-1 in the
Champions League at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday.
After a significant dip over the last two seasons, the
26-year-old England playmaker gave hope of a renaissance with a superb display.
Foden, who has admitted struggling with mental health issues, had not scored
for 10 months before his goal in Saturday's win over Ipswich. He was also left
out of England's World Cup squad earlier this year, a damning sign of his fall
from grace. His last Champions League goal before this game came in November
2025, and he now needs to produce nights like this regularly to complete his
revival.
Elliot Anderson put City ahead in the 12th minute,
scoring his first goal for the club since his close-season move from Nottingham
Forest. He reacted quicker than the flat-footed AEK defence to slot into an
empty net from 10 yards after Enzo Fernandez's free-kick came down off the bar.
Foden doubled the lead in the 34th minute at the end
of a slick move. He and Rico Lewis exchanged passes in a blur of movement to
cut through AEK, and Foden fired into the roof of the net from an acute angle.
Stavros Pilios pulled one back for the Greek side in
the 52nd minute with their first shot on target, after City perhaps lost focus
following such a one-sided first half. But the Premier League leaders quickly
restored their two-goal cushion. In the 57th minute, Rayan Cherki, picked out
by Foden on the edge of the area, produced a balletic turn into space and
finished neatly. Foden made it 4-1 in the 65th minute, caressing a shot into
the top corner from 18 yards after Cherki's long ball was knocked down by
Lewis. He completed his treble in the 76th minute, making a perfectly timed run
to tap home Ryan McAidoo's cross, his first hat-trick in over two years.
City started with Erling Haaland on the bench after
the Norway striker limped down the tunnel at the final whistle against Ipswich
with a foot injury, following his double in that game. Manager Enzo Maresca
made eight changes, with 17-year-old academy graduate Floyd Samba showing
flashes of talent on the flanks.
It was City's second win in the league phase, after
beating Porto in their opener and losing to holders Paris Saint-Germain last
week. They have now won 10 of their 11 games in all competitions this season.
Off the pitch, City's future remains in limbo as they
await the outcome of their appeal against an independent commission's verdict
that they breached the Premier League's financial rules more than 100 times.
Reports suggest the club could be hit with a heavy points deduction that would
almost certainly condemn them to relegation, which could make this Champions
League campaign their last for some time. Maresca and his players have shown
little sign of being affected, while City's fans have defiantly continued to
back the Abu Dhabi-owned club.
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