Manchester City have won 5-1 tonight against AEK Athens at the Etihad Stadium tonight. Following on from their 4-2 defeat to PSG last week, City needed to pick up three tonight. They did exactly that with a Phil Foden hat trick being the highlight of the night.
When the starting lineups were announced , Enzo Maresca had made eight changes to the starting eleven that began Manchester City's win over Ipswich Town. Maresca had taken the opportunity to rotate his squad and the exciting news was that Floyd Samba started tonight's match. Erling Haaland was on the bench for tonight's game. Antoine Semenyo, Mateo Kovacic, Matheus Nunes and Nico O'Reilly all missed tonight's match due to injury.
AEK Athens began the game brightly and did have more of the possession in the opening five minutes. Marko Nikolic's side were looking confident in possession early on and were also looking to get forward when the opportunity presented itself. Enzo Maresca's side looked sluggish early on and Rayan Cherki gave away possession on multiple occasions to begin the match, which summed up Manchester City's start to the game.
Manchester City took the lead in the 12th minute. A driving run from Floyd Samba saw the 17-year-old fouled on the edge of the AEK Athens penalty. City had a free kick from a great position 20 yards out, dead in the centre of goal. Enzo Fernandez and Rayan Cherki stood over the free kick. Manchester City's combative midfielder Enzo Fernandez curled an effort on target which AEK Athens keeper Alberto Brignoli tipped onto the crossbar. The rebound fell into a great position and Elliot Anderson was on hand to tap in from six yards out to grab his first City goal and give Enzo Maresca's side an early lead.
Come the 20th minute, the game was an open affair. AEK Athens weren't backing off after going a goal down. Enzo Maresca's side were also looking dangerous going forward. A driving run down the left from Allan in the 19th minute, where he beat three AEK Athens defenders to go from the halfway line to the byline, was a standout moment.
Allan would hit the bar in the 23rd minute with a stinging shot from the left. Enzo Maresca's side worked the ball well in possession and Cherki picked out Allan on the left in acres of space. The Brazilian winger drove at the AEK Athens right-back Lazaros Rota and cut the ball onto his left foot, and unleashed a stinging shot at goal from a tight angle from inside the penalty area. Allan's shot beat Alberto Brignoli but hit the bar and went behind.
Manchester City began to dominate territory and possession up until Phil Foden doubled Manchester City's lead in the 34th minute. Some of City's possession play was sublime and the tricks and flicks from Rayan Cherki were sublime. A free-flowing City move saw Phil Foden found in space on the right wing. Foden drove at the AEK Athens defence before he played a ball in behind on the right to Rico Lewis. Lewis played a low ball from the byline back to Foden who beat Alberto Brignoli at his near post with a powerful finish into the roof of the net to give City a 2-0 lead. It was a beautifully crafted goal and Manchester City thoroughly deserved their 2-0 lead.
Alberto Brignoli made a strong save three minutes later at his near post to deny Rayan Cherki. Cherki and Enzo Fernandez combined on the edge of the AEK Athens area where a delightful Enzo Fernandez back heel played in Cherki. Cherki got in a powerful left-footed shot on target from inside the penalty area that Brignoli saved at his near post at the cost of a corner.
Manchester City would continue to boss proceedings up until halftime. Their possession play kept AEK Athens pinned back outside of one AEK Athens break right before the interval. At halftime, City would have a 2-0 lead, which was more than warranted on the balance of play.
After AEK Athens made a bright start to the match, Manchester City eventually took control of the game. Enzo Maresca's side were a threat in possession and their work out of possession was just as good. As soon as AEK Athens had possession, they couldn't get out of their own half as City's press quickly won back possession. That was brilliant to see as you could see Enzo Maresca's blueprint come together.
The combination play between Phil Foden and Rico Lewis on the right was a standout feature of the first half. It was no surprise to see the pair combine to double Manchester City's lead. All told, every City player played well during the opening 45 minutes, which was pleasing to see.
The opening five minutes of the second half passed by without any major moments. AEK Athens did have two promising opportunities land their way, but they were snuffed out by the City defence. In between those moments, Enzo Fernandez saw a shot from a great position on the edge of the AEK Athens area blocked after he was set up by Rayan Cherki with the opportunity to shoot.
Against the run of play, AEK Athens would pull a goal back in the 52nd minute. AEK Athens left-back Stavros Pilios would surge at the City defence from midfield and combine superbly well with Zine on the left-hand side. The pair played a one-two which got Pilios into a great position and Pilios got himself into a great position to shoot and he beat Gianluigi Donnarumma with a quality and composed finish. Enzo Maresca's side is susceptible to conceding goals at home and this issue showed itself once again.
Marko Nikolic's side were buoyed by their goal. They were enjoying spells of possession up until the 55th minute. Enzo Maresca's side were now in a game and had to lift their level of play in the face of the AEK Athens challenge.
Manchester City took a 3-1 lead in the 57th minute. Allan played a low cross from the left across the AEK Athens penalty area. The ball went through the six-yard area untouched and Phil Foden picked up possession on the right. Foden played the ball to Rayan Cherki, who was just inside the penalty area. Cherki checked the ball from his right to his left foot with a superb dummy, which sent the lunging AEK Athens defender sliding away. Cherki then stroked the ball past Alberto Brignoli with a composed left-footed finish to make it 3-1 to City.
Manchester City would take a 4-1 lead in the 65th minute. Rayan Cherki would play a ball over the AEK Athens that picked out Rico Lewis running from the right to the edge of AEK Athens area. Lewis laid the ball back to Phil Foden with his first touch and Foden unleashed a devastating strike with his left-foot that rifled into the top corner, giving Alberto Brignoli no chance of making a save. It was a fantastic goal which showed that Foden's confidence had returned.
It became 5-1 to Manchester City in the 76th minute. In a sense, Manchester City's fifth goal came straight out of the City academy. City worked the ball from left to right where Abdukodir Khusanov, Ruben Dias and Vitor Reis all combined to play the ball across the pitch to find Rico Lewis on the right. Lewis played a ball over the top to Ryan McAidoo on the right and McAidoo played a ball across the AEK Athens six-yard box that found Phil Foden at the back post for a tap-in. It was a quality goal and it was fantastic to see Foden complete his hat trick. Also, seeing Lewis, McAidoo and Foden combine for a goal was a special moment in itself.
Phil Foden's goal would be the final significant moment of Manchester City's 5-1 win over AEK Athens. It was job done for Enzo Maresca's side as they picked up their second win in three UEFA Champions League league phase matches. Some of the attacking play from City was sublime to cap off a successful evening for Enzo Maresca's side.
Manchester City did what they had to do tonight at the Etihad Stadium. From the moment that Elliot Anderson scored his first City goal, there was only one winner tonight. Enzo Maresca's side dominated the first half and some of the football they produced was sumptuous. Goals from Elliot Anderson and Phil Foden capped off a strong first half for City.
AEK Athens did hit back after halftime. It did seem when Stavros Pilios pulled a goal back that City could have a fight on their hands. However, the FA Cup and Carabao Cup holders went up a gear to walk away with all three points and a 5-1 win.
The highlight of the night was Phil Foden's hat trick. That is now four goals in two games for Foden who looks to be back to his best. In truth, there wasn't a poor player on the pitch for Manchester City tonight. Tonight's match was a case of job done for Enzo Maresca's side as attention now shifts to their next Premier League fixture against Aston Villa at Villa Park on Saturday.
