Foden Hat-Trick Powers Manchester City Past AEK Athens

Full-time

Manchester City recorded a commanding 5-1 victory over AEK Athens at the Etihad Stadium in round three of the Champions League league stage. City led 2-0 at the interval, absorbed AEK’s brief response early in the second half, then accelerated away with three further goals.

Phil Foden was the decisive figure, completing a hat-trick and earning Player of the Match honours with a 9.92 rating. Elliot Anderson and Rayan Cherki also found the net as City turned territorial authority into a five-goal result.

City establish the first-half lead

The home side opened the scoring in the 12th minute. Anderson struck with his left foot after an assist from Enzo Fernández to make it 1-0. The early goal gave City a platform which they strengthened before the break.

Foden doubled the advantage in the 34th minute, finishing with his right foot from Rico Lewis’s assist. That left City 2-0 up at half-time, reflecting a first period in which they had already imposed themselves on the scoreline.

The overall numbers reinforced City’s control across the match. They had 64% possession, completed 635 of 680 passes for a 93% success rate, and produced 127 attacks to AEK’s 57. City also registered 67 dangerous attacks, compared with 18 for the visitors.

AEK reply, then City pull clear

AEK made two changes at the start of the second half, introducing Aboubakary Koita and Zini. The latter was involved immediately: Zini assisted Stavros Pilios’s left-footed finish in the 52nd minute, reducing the deficit to 2-1.

The comeback opportunity was short-lived. Five minutes later, Cherki restored City’s two-goal cushion with a left-footed finish, supplied by Foden. From that point, the hosts extended their advantage decisively.

Foden struck again in the 65th minute, this time with his left foot and again from a Lewis assist. His third arrived in the 76th minute, another left-footed goal, with Ryan McAidoo credited with the assist. City’s three second-half goals, alongside AEK’s one, completed a 5-1 final score.

The numbers behind the scoreline

City created four big chances to AEK’s one and led 13-6 in key passes. Their 17 total shots produced seven efforts on target, while AEK recorded 11 shots and three on target. City also had a pronounced advantage in shots from inside the box, 13 to three, and struck the woodwork twice.

The home side won eight corners to AEK’s three, while their four assists reflected the collective contribution behind the five goals. Lewis set up two of them, for Foden in the 34th and 65th minutes. Fernández assisted Anderson’s opener, Foden assisted Cherki, and McAidoo supplied Foden’s third.

AEK did contest the game physically, winning 39 duels to City’s 34 and 14 successful tackles to City’s nine. They also completed 26 successful long passes, compared with City’s 17. But City’s sustained possession, greater attacking volume and superior output in the penalty area told on the final score.

Standout performers

Foden’s three goals made him the clear headline performer. His 9.92 rating was comfortably the highest in the match. Lewis followed with an 8.29 rating after contributing two assists, while Cherki scored once and was rated 7.87. Anderson began the scoring and received a 7.58 rating.

For AEK, Zini made an instant contribution from the bench with the assist for Pilios’s goal and was their highest-rated player at 7.10. Pilios, who scored AEK’s lone goal, received a 6.82 rating.

City used four substitutions, including McAidoo in the 62nd minute; he went on to assist the fifth goal. AEK used all five of their substitutes. Josko Gvardiol received the only yellow card of the match, in the 59th minute.

The final outcome was emphatic: City combined a two-goal first-half lead with a three-goal second-half display to secure a 5-1 Champions League win.