Champions League · Oct 20, 2026
Manchester City beat AEK Athens 5-1 as Phil Foden scores his first Champions League hat-trick
By Row Seventeen ·
Manchester City beat AEK Athens 5–1 (Champions League) on October 20, 2026.
Manchester City defeated AEK Athens 5-1 in the Champions League on October 20, 2026, with Rayan Cherki restoring a two-goal lead five minutes after Stavros Pilios scored.
1–5FINAL
Key moments
Sources ↓- Opening
The opening goal also brought a first for Elliot Anderson.
Read in context ↘ - Middle stages
Cherki threatened again before the interval, but there was no third goal before the break.
Read in context ↘ - Closing stages
Foden scored again in the 65th minute, combining with Lewis before a powerful finish into the top left corner.
Read in context ↘
Anderson strikes before Foden doubles the lead
Enzo Maresca gave Floyd Samba and Allan their Champions League debuts as Manchester City made their 150th appearance in the competition. The opening goal also brought a first for Elliot Anderson.
Anderson scored in the 12th minute, reacting to a rebound after Enzo Fernández’s free kick struck the crossbar. Phil Foden doubled the advantage in the 34th minute after combining with Rico Lewis down the right and finishing into the roof of the net.
City's chances keep coming before halftime
City had 10 first-half attempts at Alberto Brignoli’s goal. Allan hit the crossbar, while Rayan Cherki also went close, adding further chances to a half in which Anderson and Foden had both found the net.
Cherki threatened again before the interval, but there was no third goal before the break. City went into halftime with their two-goal advantage intact.
Pilios scores, then Cherki answers
Stavros Pilios reduced the deficit in the 52nd minute with AEK Athens’ first shot on target. He advanced into Donnarumma’s penalty area and sent a low shot across the goalkeeper to score the visitors’ only goal.
Cherki restored City's two-goal cushion in the 57th minute. Receiving Foden’s pass, he cut onto his left foot and curled his finish into the bottom left corner.
Foden completes his hat-trick
Foden scored again in the 65th minute, combining with Lewis before a powerful finish into the top left corner. In the 76th, he tapped Ryan McAidoo’s cross into an empty net, completing his first Champions League hat-trick and City's scoring.
The victory gave City two wins and one defeat from their first three league-phase fixtures this season.
Based on the match coverage and records linked below. Core match facts were checked against the linked source pages. This is an original, AI-assisted recap.
- Manchester City official gallery and match narrative
- Sky Sports match report and result record
- AS USA independent match report
- Download the supporting facts and attribution
Published 2026-10-21. Game date shown above.
Correction & update: Expanded a verified final-result brief into independently verified match detail; result and URL unchanged.
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