Phil Foden bagged a hat-trick as dominant Manchester Metropolis cruised to a 5-1 win over AEK Athens to assert their second Champions League victory of the marketing campaign.
Foden had waited 10 months for a purpose earlier than 4 arrived in back-to-back outings, including to his strike towards Ipswich on the weekend with three tidy finishes, the primary two from Rico Lewis assists.
Man Metropolis had far an excessive amount of high quality for his or her Greek guests regardless of leaving Erling Haaland within the stands, with Enzo Maresca permitting 17-year-old Floyd Samba to deputise in his place. Maresca proved his level in doing so: Metropolis have many different technique of scoring past Haaland.
Elliot Anderson was additionally on track in a dominant first half that included 10 efforts on Alberto Brignoli’s purpose, with Allan putting the crossbar and Rayan Cherki going shut.
AEK didn’t land a shot on track till Stavros Pilios pulled a purpose again early within the second interval. However their hope was short-lived. Cherki scored Metropolis’s third 5 minutes later to kill any suggestion of a comeback and Foden issued one other well timed reminder of his class by finishing a press release hat-trick.
The final time Foden scored 3 times in the identical sport was April 2024. It is felt like a lifetime for the reason that Metropolis Academy graduate, a recognized favorite of Pep Guardiola, was anyplace close to his dazzling greatest. His newest show was someplace near excellent.