Manchester City got back on track in the Champions League last night, and a hat-trick for Phil Foden has thrust him back into the spotlight at the Etihad.

After losing 4-2 to Paris Saint-Germain last time out, it was important for Manchester City to bounce back last night. And they did that rather emphatically against the Greek giants.

And it was Phil Foden who was the star of the show, scoring three times after going almost a full year without scoring in the competition.

Rival fans have got a kick out of Foden’s loss of form recently, so his display last night was certainly satisfying – and the 26-year-old may well have presented Enzo Maresca with a new headache.

Phil Foden scores his first Champions League hat trick as Man City run riot against AEK Athens. What did you make of that

Foden reminded everyone of his quality vs AEK Athens

With no Erling Haaland or Antoine Semenyo to call on last night, it was important that Foden stepped up – and he gave a real reminder of just how good he can be.

Minutes have been hard to come by recently, and he also picked up that red card against Manchester United, which did not help his cause.

Against AEK, though, Foden shone, and put up some impressive numbers:

The Foden dilemma for Enzo Maresca

Foden was given a perfect 10 rating by Sofascore for his performance, which just underlines how good he was in the game, and the display will no doubt be on Maresca’s mind in the coming days as he prepares the team for Saturday’s clash with Aston Villa.

Foden has it tough at the moment. Rayan Cherki is a big rival to him in terms of getting regular minutes, with the Frenchman having put in several world-class performances in the number 10 role. The addition of Enzo Fernandez perhaps also doesn’t help him – the Argentine can operate as an advanced midfielder and is good at crashing the box. And if Maresca wants to play Ayyoub Bouaddi next to Elliot Anderson, then Fernandez is probably the best option to play as the number 10.

Then there’s Iliman Ndiaye, a supremely technical player who is somewhat similar to Foden. And there’s also young winger Ryan McAidoo, who has the potential to be special.

But the injury to Antoine Semenyo could help Foden, who can obviously play from the right side as he did against AEK.

Potentially, it could encourage Maresca to replace Semenyo directly with Foden, or with Cherki, which would then free up the number 10 position for Foden, who has previously stated he prefers to play in the middle (via TNT Sports). The six line-breaking passes against AEK, five passes into the final third and three chances created suggest he was contributing to City’s attacking progression, not just finishing moves. If he can provide that creativity consistently, Maresca has a stronger case for finding him a regular place in the side.

Foden’s creative numbers suggest his contribution this season has actually been better than his recent goal drought might imply. According to FotMob, he’s created four big chances in the Premier League, more than any other City player, while averaging 3.0 chances created per 90 minutes. That’s comfortably ahead of Semenyo (1.8) and Fernández (1.6), and only marginally behind Cherki (3.2). While those figures don’t settle the selection debate, they do strengthen Foden’s case.

One man who’ll likely hope Foden keeps his place in the team is Erling Haaland, who’d surely have been licking his lips over how well Foden played against AEK. The pair have previously combined for 17 goals for Manchester City.

Some users from our TalkingPoints community had their say on Foden last night and the feeling was rather split. There was acknowledgment of his quality, but also of the competition he has at the Etihad.

But after also scoring against Ipswich Town at the weekend, Foden is now City’s third-highest scorer this season which is impressive for someone who has supposedly not been in good form. He also has four goal contributions across his eight appearances.

Prior to this week, Foden hadn’t scored a goal in 10 months for City which has been both surprising and sad to comprehend. But he’s now put himself firmly on Maresca’s radar, and the Italian might just have to stick with him, knowing the kind of level he can get to.

His hat-trick will surely strengthen his case for more minutes. But it’s his underlying creative numbers that provide a better argument for his inclusion. With Semenyo unavailable, Maresca has a potential route to accommodate him, either on the right or as a number 10. The challenge for Foden now is to turn one outstanding performance into a sustained run of form.