Foden hits hat-trick as Manchester City beat AEK Athens 5-1 in Champions League
England's Phil Foden scored three goals and set up another as Manchester City beat AEK Athens 5-1 in the Champions League. He also played as a false nine with Erling Haaland rested.
Manchester City midfielder Phil Foden scored a hat-trick and provided an assist on Tuesday as his side beat Greek club AEK Athens 5-1 at the Etihad Stadium in the UEFA Champions League, Europe's top club competition. It was his best display in a long time and came with City's main striker, Erling Haaland, rested.
After two difficult seasons
Foden has admitted he failed to hit expected heights in the past two seasons. He was left out of England's World Cup squad last summer, and this season started slowly under new manager Enzo Maresca, including a red card in September in the derby against Manchester United. On Saturday against Ipswich he scored his first Premier League goal in 10 months.
The match against AEK
Maresca made eight changes from the Ipswich game, keeping only goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, Ruben Dias and Foden. Haaland was in the squad but rested after a blow to the foot in the previous match. Foden began on the right and later moved into the false nine role, which he said he really enjoyed.
He became only the third Englishman to score a hat-trick and make an assist in one Champions League match, after Wayne Rooney in 2004 and Raheem Sterling in 2019. His second goal was a first-time finish into the top corner from just inside the area. AEK briefly pulled it back to 2-1 early in the second half, but City pulled clear.
Reaction
Foden said he is returning to form slowly but is going in the right direction. Maresca called him one of the best English players. Former City defender Joleon Lescott said Foden has convinced the manager he can play at number nine if Haaland is unavailable. In 2023-24 Foden scored 19 goals and was named the Professional Footballers' Association player of the year. He signed a new four-year contract in July.
