Phil Foden hit a hat-trick to underline his long-awaited return to form as Manchester City crushed AEK Athens 5-1 in the Champions League on Tuesday.
After a significant dip over the last two seasons, Foden provided hope of a renaissance for the England playmaker with a sublime display at the Etihad Stadium.
The 26-year-old, who has admitted struggling with mental health issues, hadn’t scored for 10 months prior to his goal in Saturday’s win against Ipswich.
Long heralded as one of England’s brightest talents, Foden was left out of his country’s World Cup squad earlier this year in a damning sign of his fall from grace.
Having ended his run without a goal in the Champions League since November 2025, Foden now has to produce nights like this on a regular basis to complete his revival.
Elliot Anderson put City ahead early in the first half with his first goal for the club since his close-season move from Nottingham Forest.
Foden doubled City’s lead before the break and although Stavros Pilios pulled one back for the Greek side after the interval, the Premier League leaders finished with a flourish.
Rayan Cherki bagged City’s third goal in typically flamboyant fashion and Foden struck twice more to complete his treble.
It was City’s second win in the league phase after beating Porto in their opening game and losing to holders Paris Saint-Germain last week.
City’s future remains in limbo as they wait the result of their appeal against an independent commission’s verdict that they were guilty of more than 100 breaches of the Premier League’s financial rules.
With reports emerging that City are set to be hit with a massive points deduction that will almost certainly condemn them to relegation, this season’s Champions League campaign could be the club’s last for some time.
Enzo Maresca and his players have shown little sign of being affected by the scandal, while City’s fans defiantly show their backing for the Abu Dhabi-owned club.
They have won 10 of their 11 games in all competitions this season and even the absence of Erling Haaland couldn’t derail them.
City started with Haaland on the bench after the Norway striker limped down the tunnel at the final whistle with a foot injury following his double against Ipswich.
Maresca made eight changes from the Ipswich game, with 17-year-old academy graduate Floyd Samba showing flashes of his talent on the flanks.
City’s understudies took just 12 minutes to seize the lead.
Enzo Fernadez’s free-kick cannoned down off the bar and Anderson reacted quicker than the flat-footed AEK defence as the midfielder slotted into the empty net from 10 yards.
Foden doubled City’s lead at the climax of an eye-catching move in the 34th minute.
Exchanging passes in a blur of movement and precision, Foden and Rico Lewis cut through AEK with ease before Foden fired high into the roof of the net from an acute angle.
Perhaps overconfident after such a one-sided half, City lost their focus, allowing Pilios to reduce the deficit with their first shot on target in the 52nd minute.
City quickly regained their two-goal lead in the 57th minute.
Picked out by Foden on the edge of the area, Cherki unfurled a balletic turn that took him into space for a fine finish in keeping with his graceful first touch.
In the 65th minute, Cherki’s long ball was knocked down by Lewis and Foden arrived to caress his shot into the top corner from 18 yards.
Foden made a perfectly timed run to tap home Ryan McAidoo’s cross in the 76th minute, sealing his first hat-trick for over two years.
AFP
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