Foden Hat-Trick Sinks AEK as Manchester City Win 5-1 at the Etihad

By Taki Panos

Some nights in Europe are about learning, and this was one of them. Phil Foden scored a hat-trick and added an assist as Manchester City beat AEK 5-1 at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday, October 20, 2026, in the third round of the Champions League league phase, as Sport24, Gazzetta and BBC Sport all reported. Stavros Pilios scored AEK's only goal early in the second half, but City were simply on another level, and the Greek champions flew home with their second straight defeat in England.

For readers just catching up, AEK are in the Champions League league phase as Greek champions, and their campaign started well with a 1-0 home win over LASK. Then came a trip to London, where Shakhtar beat AEK 3-1 at Stamford Bridge last week, with the Ukrainian club playing its home game in England. Tuesday made it two losses on English soil in six days, and AEK now sit 27th in the 36-team table with three points, per Gazzetta and the BBC standings.

The first goal was a cruel one. In the 12th minute, Enzo Fernandez curled a free kick against the crossbar, the ball came down off the back of goalkeeper Alberto Brignoli, and Elliot Anderson poked it into an empty net, Sport24 and BBC Sport both described. AEK had started compactly in their usual 4-4-2, with coach Marko Nikolic giving surprise starts to Kervin Arriaga and Joao Mario and bringing striker Varga back into the lineup, according to Gazzetta.

City kept pushing from there, mostly down AEK's left side. Allan beat Lazaros Rota and hit the crossbar in the 23rd minute, Sport24 and Gazzetta reported, and the BBC also noted the woodwork. The second goal arrived in the 34th minute and it was lovely to watch, unless you were wearing yellow and black. Foden played a quick one-two with Rico Lewis inside the box and finished from close range, per Sport24 and the BBC. It was 2-0 at the break, and AEK had not managed a shot on target.

Nikolic changed things at halftime, sending on Koita and Zini for Marin and Varga, Gazzetta and Sport24 both wrote. It worked, at least for a while. In the 52nd minute Pilios burst forward on the left, cut inside and hit a calm diagonal shot into the net for 2-1. The BBC pointed out it was AEK's first shot on target of the night, and the yellow and black end of the Etihad suddenly found its voice again. For about five minutes, there was a game.

Then City answered, and fast. In the 57th minute Foden found Rayan Cherki around the penalty spot, Cherki sent Arriaga the wrong way with a smooth touch and finished for 3-1, per Gazzetta, Sport24 and the BBC. Eight minutes later Lewis got behind Filipe Relvas and set up Foden, who hit a first-time shot into the top corner for 4-1, as all three outlets described. That was the moment the comeback talk ended.

AEK kept trying, which deserves a mention. Zubkov had two shots from distance, and around the 75th minute Zini got in behind the defense from a Koita pass but Gianluigi Donnarumma saved, Gazzetta and Sport24 reported. A minute later City scored again. McAidoo went past his man on the right and pulled the ball back into the six-yard box, where Foden tapped in for his hat-trick and 5-1, per Sport24 and Gazzetta. The BBC called his display virtuoso, which is hard to argue with.

The numbers tell the same story as the scoreline. City had about 64 percent of the ball, 17 shots to AEK's 11 and seven on target to AEK's three, according to the BBC match statistics, with expected goals of 2.84 against 0.72. Gazzetta summed it up as a gulf in quality, and noted that City reached a comfortable 2-0 at halftime without ever really raising the tempo. That is the uncomfortable part. City were not even flat out.

And this was not City's strongest eleven. Coach Enzo Maresca left Erling Haaland on the bench and rotated his attack, Gazzetta reported. One of the surprise starters had a Greek football connection. Floyd Samba, a 17-year-old midfielder, is the son of former Panathinaikos defender Christopher Samba, who played for the Greens in the 2016-17 season, as both Gazzetta and Sport24 pointed out. His brother Tyrone played for City's youth team against AEK earlier the same day, per Gazzetta.

Away from the pitch, the AEK fans did their part again. More than 3,500 of them filled the visitors' section at the Etihad, Gazzetta reported, and Sport24 described the stands turning yellow and black before kickoff. For City, the win was a timely response after a 4-2 home loss to holders Paris Saint-Germain the week before, the BBC noted, and it lifted them to sixth with six points. Elsewhere on the night, Kostas Tsimikas started for Liverpool and set up a goal for Alexis Mac Allister as they came back to beat Villarreal 4-3, per Sport24 and Gazzetta, a week after Tsimikas captained Liverpool at LASK.

There is a Greek football angle bigger than AEK, too. Sport24 noted that AEK's loss, combined with Slavia Prague's late draw in Istanbul, let Czechia close the gap on Greece in the UEFA country ranking. Greece only recently climbed to 10th in that ranking, and every point from AEK, Olympiacos, Panathinaikos and OFI matters in that race, because the ranking decides how many Greek clubs get into Europe and at what stage.

My take: nobody should judge AEK on a night like this. Manchester City at the Etihad is about the hardest away trip in club football, and losing there is normal for almost everyone. What worries me a little more is the pattern. Two early goals conceded from moments AEK could have handled better, one unlucky and one from a lost runner, made the night much harder than it needed to be. Pilios showed what AEK can do on the break. They need more of that, and fewer gifts.

Next up is a quick turnaround in the Super League, with AEK hosting Panaitolikos at the Allwyn Arena on Saturday, October 24, Sport24 reported. Then comes the big one. Real Madrid visit Nea Filadelfeia on Wednesday, November 4, at 19:45 Greek time, according to both Gazzetta and Sport24. Keep an eye on our Greek Sports section for every result from AEK's Champions League run. Five games to go, and the biggest night of all is at home.

Sources: Sport24, Gazzetta, BBC Sport.

Image: Yellow flag with a black double-headed eagle in AEK colors by Kanchelskis, cropped, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0).