Man City 5-1 AEK Athens: Phil Foden hat-trick sinks Greek side at the Etihad

Phil Foden scored a hat-trick as Manchester City beat AEK Athens 5-1 at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday, bouncing back from last week's home defeat by Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League league phase. Elliot Anderson and Rayan Cherki also scored for Enzo Maresca's side, while Stavros Pilios replied for the Greek visitors.

Match facts

• Result: Manchester City 5-1 AEK Athens (half-time 2-0)
• Competition: UEFA Champions League, League Phase, Matchday 3
• Venue: Etihad Stadium, Manchester
• Scorers: Manchester City - Anderson 12', Foden 34', 65', 76', Cherki 57'; AEK Athens - Pilios 52'
• Assists: Manchester City - Lewis (34', 65'), Foden (57'), McAidoo (76'); AEK Athens - Zini (52')
• Red cards: None
• Next: Aston Villa v Manchester City (Premier League), Saturday 24 October, 12:30 UK; RB Leipzig v Manchester City and AEK Athens v Real Madrid (Champions League), Wednesday 4 November

How the match unfolded

Maresca made eight changes from Saturday's win over Ipswich Town for the 20:00 UK kick-off, starting 17-year-old Floyd Samba up front and leaving Erling Haaland as an unused substitute.

Samba was fouled on the edge of the area by AEK captain Harold Moukoudi, and in the 12th minute Enzo Fernández curled the free-kick against the crossbar before Anderson reacted first to poke in the rebound from close range, his first goal for the club. Allan then hit the bar from the left side of the box in the 23rd minute.

City doubled their lead in the 34th minute. Rico Lewis set up Foden, who drove a right-footed finish into the roof of the net from the right side of the six-yard box. Alberto Brignoli saved from Cherki and Allan in the 38th minute to keep it 2-0 at the break.

AEK coach Marko Nikolić sent on Aboubakary Koïta and Zini at half-time, and the visitors struck in the 52nd minute. Zini fed Pilios on a fast break and the full-back drilled a low left-footed shot across Gianluigi Donnarumma and in, AEK's first shot on target of the night.

City answered five minutes later. Foden found Cherki inside the box, and the Frenchman dragged the ball back before finishing low into the bottom left corner. Joško Gvardiol was booked in the 59th minute for a foul on Lovro Majer.

Foden added his second in the 65th minute, meeting another Lewis pass with a first-time left-footed shot into the top corner. Substitute Ryan McAidoo, on for Samba in the 62nd minute, then crossed for Foden to complete his hat-trick from very close range in the 76th minute. Donnarumma saved from Oleksandr Zubkov and Zini in the 73rd and 74th minutes, and there were two minutes of stoppage time.

Reaction

It was Foden's fourth hat-trick for City, according to the club, and his first since April 2024, as reported by Sky Sports. He had ended a 10-month wait for a goal against Ipswich on Saturday.

"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," Foden told TNT Sports.

Nikolić, quoted by Sky Sports, said the quality of City's finishing "was brutal", adding: "These guys were much better in the final third than us. They punished every mistake. A deserved victory for City."

What it means

City finished with 17 shots to AEK's 11, seven on target, and 63.6% of possession. The win lifts them to six points from three games after a 2-0 win at Porto on Matchday 1 and the 2-4 home defeat by PSG last week. AEK stay on six points after earlier wins over LASK and Shakhtar Donetsk.

City visit Aston Villa on Saturday without Antoine Semenyo, who faces around eight weeks out with a knee problem; earlier this month they won 3-0 at Liverpool in the Premier League. On Matchday 4 they visit RB Leipzig (20:00 UK), while AEK host Real Madrid (17:45 UK).

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