Foden scores hat-trick as Manchester City beat AEK 5-1

Manchester City beat AEK Athens 5-1 in the Champions League on October 20, with Phil Foden scoring three goals and assisting another in a performance that prompted manager Enzo Maresca to back the forward’s efforts to regain form. Elliot Anderson opened the scoring and Rayan Cherki also found the net for City. AEK reduced the deficit early in the second half through Stavros Pilios, but Cherki restored City’s two-goal advantage before Foden scored twice more to complete his hat-trick. The result followed City’s 4-2 defeat by Paris Saint-Germain in their previous Champions League match. Foden had ended a long scoring drought with a goal in City’s 3-2 Premier League win over Ipswich the previous weekend. He had gone 35 appearances without scoring, according to one match report, before netting in consecutive outings. His performance against AEK included a pass that set up Cherki’s goal, as well as three of City’s five goals. After the match, Foden said he was “going in the right direction” but still had a long way to go before returning to his best. He said scoring helped and that he wanted to keep working for the manager and team. His assessment was more cautious than the...