Manchester City take control against AEK Athens as Phil Foden strikes twice

Manchester City established a 2-0 lead over AEK Athens in the Champions League league phase, with Phil Foden scoring the second goal after Elliott Anderson had opened the scoring.

Anderson reacted quickest to a loose ball inside the AEK Athens penalty area and finished into the net to put Manchester City ahead. The goal arrived after AEK Athens had shown some threat, including a long-range effort from Kervin Arriaga that cleared the crossbar.

Foden then doubled Manchester City’s advantage. Rico Lewis played the ball into the penalty area, where Foden finished from inside the six-yard box and sent his shot into the left side of the goal.

Manchester City had earlier seen Floyd Samba shoot wide from inside the penalty area, while Rayan Cherki tested AEK Athens goalkeeper Alberto Brignoli with another effort from close range. Brignoli made the save to deny him.

Foden was also involved in several set-piece situations. He delivered corners from the right, but AEK Athens’ defence repeatedly cleared the danger. Enzo Fernandez took a corner from the left which was headed away, while Cherki also played a short corner before sending in a cross that caused no immediate threat.

Manchester City continued to apply pressure as AEK Athens defended deep. A cross from Josko Gvardiol on the left was cleared, while another delivery from inside the penalty area was gathered by Brignoli.

After 15 minutes, Manchester City were leading 1-0, with the shots level at 2-2. By the half-hour mark, Manchester City had registered seven attempts to AEK Athens’ two and held 53% possession compared with 47% for their opponents.

AEK Athens did manage one promising move when Razvan Marin received the ball in midfield and advanced towards the edge of the Manchester City penalty area. He prepared a powerful shot, but a defender intervened at the last moment to block it and clear the danger.

The Greek side then retained possession with a series of passes in their defensive half, although they were unable to trouble the Manchester City goal.

Manchester City won four corners before the interval, compared with none for AEK Athens. One further effort from Samba went wide and resulted in a goal kick.

The referee added one minute of stoppage time at the end of the first half, with Manchester City going into the break two goals ahead.