Manchester City won their second UEFA Champions League game of the season on Tuesday with a 5-1 win over AEK Athens.
Summer signing Elliot Anderson scored just 12 minutes into the game before Phil Foden grabbed his first of the night in the 34th minute, giving Man City a healthy lead going into the second half.
Stavros Pilios netted for AEK Athens in the 52nd minute, but Rayan Cherki was quick to respond, making it 3-1 just five minutes later with an assist from Foden.
Foden kept the goals coming, completing his hat-trick by the 76th minute.
Man City continue impressive run
With two wins and one loss, Man City are now on six points.
However, with plenty of teams yet to play their matchday three fixtures, Enzo Maresca’s side are likely to drop out of the top eight.
Maresca will be pleased with the result, though, as it marked their 10th win in 12 games across all competitions this season.
Speaking about their performance after the game, Maresca said on Sky Sports: “It was not easy, especially after the PSG game [a 4-2 loss].
“We had two games that we certainly needed to win, and we did our job.
“I’m also happy because some of the players have not been playing many minutes, but they were ready. This is important.
“It is the best feeling for any manager when you make many changes but the performance is still good.”
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Maresca praises hat-trick hero Foden
The Italian also praised hat-trick hero Foden, saying: “I’ve said since day one – I consider him one of the best English players.
“For different reasons, in the last two years, he was not good enough, but I know how good he is.
“We are trying to help him because we are sure he’s going to help us.”
Foden, meanwhile, was happy with his performance but remained critical of himself.
“I enjoyed that a lot. We showed determination again,” he stated.
“It wasn’t pretty at times, giving sloppy passes away, but I thought we stuck at the game plan, we kept going and in the end we broke them down.
“I’ve still got a long way [before I’m back to my best], but I’m going in the right direction and scoring along the way. It definitely helps.
“I just want to keep working hard and trying to be the best I can for the manager and for the team.”
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