Foden followed up Saturday’s strike against Ipswich with a hat-trick as Manchester City thrashed AEK Athens 5-1 in the Champions League on Tuesday.

The goals were his first since December and underlined a strong return to the side following his suspension after his sending off in last month’s Manchester derby.

It has been a difficult two years for Foden, with struggles for form and fitness, culminating in his omission from England’s World Cup squad.

“Obviously I’m delighted to score goals now,” the 26-year-old told TNT Sports. “It can only do good for the confidence.

“I’ve still got a long way to go but I’m going in the right direction and scoring along the way definitely helps. I just want to keep working hard and trying to do my best for the manager and for the team.”

After the storm of recent weeks following the damning guilty verdict against the club, with ferocious atmospheres around games against Liverpool, Paris St Germain and Ipswich, this was an altogether more sedate occasion.

City’s off-field situation will continue to cast a shadow over the club until the matter is resolved, but the players have shown little sign of being affected.

A City side featuring eight changes from the weekend brushed aside the Greek champions with minimal fuss at the Etihad Stadium, getting their Champions League campaign back on track after their defeat by PSG.

Elliot Anderson began the rout with his first goal for the club, before Foden scored his first of the night and teed up a sublime effort from Rayan Cherki. Having started on the right, Foden finished the game as a false nine and added two more goals late on.

Top scorer Erling Haaland, who has been nursing a sore foot, remained on the bench throughout.

Foden said: “We spoke about bouncing back from PSG because the games can pass you by quickly and you can end up in a difficult situation. It’s important to keep putting points on the board and we’ve done that.

“The lads were great again. We showed determination again. There were spells where they were on top and I think they started the second half really well.

“We had to try and get back into the game and start playing our football. I think we just got better and better towards the end of the game and the talent shone through in the end.”