Maresca backs Foden to rediscover best form after hat-trick rescues City's Champions League night

Phil Foden marked his return to form with a hat-trick as Manchester City swept AEK Athens aside 5-1 in the Champions League, with manager Enzo Maresca offering a candid assessment of the 26-year-old’s recent struggles while expressing firm confidence in his revival.

The three goals took Foden to four in two games — his first of 2026 — and came after a difficult stretch that followed his Player of the Season campaign in the 2023/24 Premier League. His form dipped the following year and again in the second half of last season, a slide that Maresca did not attempt to gloss over.

“I was very happy with Phil, even before the red card to be honest,” said Maresca. “I said since day one that I consider him one of the best English players. For different reasons, in the last two years, three years, he was not good enough but I know how good he is — we are just trying to help him because we are sure that he is going to help us this season.”

Maresca, who took charge at the Etihad after Pep Guardiola’s departure, has been working to rebuild Foden’s confidence since the start of the campaign. A red card earlier in the season forced an eight-week absence, but the Stockport-born midfielder has responded emphatically on his return.

The timing of the performance is significant for City. Antoine Semenyo is facing an eight-week lay-off of his own, and Foden’s resurgence offers Maresca a reliable attacking option during that period. The hat-trick against AEK Athens was not just a statistical milestone — it was the kind of authoritative display that suggests the player Maresca has consistently championed is beginning to re-emerge.