MANCHESTER — Phil Foden became just the third Englishman to score a hat-trick and provide an assist in a Champions League match as Manchester City thrashed AEK Athens 5-1 at Etihad Stadium on Tuesday. The 26-year-old had a hand in four of the five goals in a magnificent man-of-the-match display that offered a reminder of his prodigious talent.
"I enjoyed that a lot," Foden told TNT Sports. "The lads were great again. We showed determination again. I am a forward so I have to keep scoring and helping the team. It is good for my confidence." Asked if he was returning to his best form, he added: "Slowly, but surely. Still got a long way to go, but I am going in the right direction. Scoring along the way definitely helps. I want to keep working hard and keep being the best I can for the manager and the team."
Boss Enzo Maresca took a risk by making eight changes from the side that beat Ipswich Town in their last outing, with Gianluigi Donnarumma, Ruben Dias and Foden the players retained. Erling Haaland was named in the squad but given the night off after sustaining a blow to the foot in the previous game, allowing Maresca to explore his suggestion that Foden could offer a "solution" in the false nine role. After starting on the right, Foden moved centrally later in the game and said he "really enjoyed" the role. Though City briefly wobbled when the visitors pulled a goal back to trail 2-1 at the start of the second half, they found another gear to move out of sight. Foden's second was the pick of the bunch, a stunning first-time effort from just inside the area caressed into the top corner, while his first and third were converted from close range. "Beautiful - that's the word I would use to describe him," former City defender Joleon Lescott said on TNT Sports. "His finishing was exquisite. I think he has convinced the manager that if Erling Haaland isn't available for any reason throughout the season, then he is the man to play at number nine."
The hat-trick follows a slow-burning fresh start under Maresca after two disappointing seasons and being left out of the England squad for the World Cup last summer. Foden had been sent off in the derby against Manchester United at Old Trafford in September for kicking out at Bruno Fernandes, before netting against Ipswich on Saturday for his first Premier League goal in 10 months. That strike appears to have opened the floodgates. Foden scored 19 goals as City won the Premier League in 2023-24 and was named the Professional Footballers' Association player of the year and the league's player of the season, but ended last season failing to score in his last 31 games for club and country before signing a new four-year deal in July. He now joins Wayne Rooney for Manchester United in 2004 and former team-mate Raheem Sterling for City in 2019 as the only Englishmen to register a hat-trick and an assist in a single Champions League match.
"I was very happy with Phil, even before the red card to be honest," said head coach Enzo Maresca. "I said since day one that I consider him one of the best English players. We know that Phil is a top player. Again, for different reasons, he had some problems in the last two years but he is going to help us. That is why we are so keen to have him in the best way." Former England winger Ashley Young said on BBC Radio 5 Live: "When Phil Foden gets his opportunities tonight, he takes them with both hands. By getting a hat-trick, his confidence is going to be sky high. Enzo Maresca is going to be happy he hasn't had to bring on Erling Haaland or Jeremy Doku." Young added: "Foden is answering his manager's questions."