The England international struck three times at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday, adding to his goal against Ipswich Town at the weekend as he looks to rediscover his best form.
Elliot Anderson opened the scoring with his first goal for City after 12 minutes, reacting quickest to a rebound from Enzo Fernández’s free-kick. Foden doubled the advantage in the 34th minute, finishing after good work from Rico Lewis.
Stavros Pilios pulled one back for the Greek visitors seven minutes into the second half, but City responded quickly. Foden supplied Rayan Cherki, who created space with a clever turn before slotting into the bottom corner.
Foden then took over again, scoring in the 65th minute before completing his treble 11 minutes later. The result gave Manchester City their second Champions League win of the campaign and marked their 150th appearance in the competition.
“I enjoyed that a lot,” Foden said. “The lads were great again. We showed determination again, it wasn’t pretty at times. We were giving sloppy passes away.
“But we stuck at the game plan and we kept going and in the end we broke them down. Overall I’m delighted.”
Asked which of his three goals he preferred, Foden picked the second, saying he particularly enjoyed the way the ball went in.
The 25-year-old also stressed that his priority was to keep contributing in front of goal rather than become distracted by the wider attention surrounding his return to form.
“I’m delighted to score goals now, I’m a forward so I have to keep scoring and helping the team. It’ll only do good for my confidence,” he said.
Foden believes there is still room for improvement, despite the emphatic performance against AEK.
“Slowly but surely [getting back to my best], still got a long way to go. I’m going in the right direction. Scoring along the way definitely helps.
“I’ve just got to keep working hard and try to be as best as I can for the manager and for the team.”
He also enjoyed operating as a false nine, finding space between the lines and helping link City’s attacks.
“Especially when I changed into the false 9 role, I really enjoyed it a lot. In between the lines and in the pockets where I like to be and linking the play. I really enjoyed that role tonight.”
City also handed Champions League debuts to Floyd Samba, Allan, Ryan McAidoo, Vitor Reis and Kaden Braithwaite. Foden said the young players had earned their opportunities and that he was keen to help them settle into the senior side.