Champions League Fixtures: Manchester City vs AEK Athens Result and Goals

Updated October 21, 2026: Manchester City defeated AEK Athens 5-1 in the 2026/27 UEFA Champions League league phase on Tuesday, October 20. Phil Foden scored a hat trick, Elliot Anderson and Rayan Cherki also scored for City, and Stavros Pilios scored AEK’s goal. UEFA records the fixture as Matchday 3, match 2049591.

Manchester City vs. AEK Athens: final score, date, and venue

The match is complete. City won 5-1 at the City of Manchester Stadium, known to the club and supporters as the Etihad Stadium. UEFA’s match center identifies City as the home team, and Manchester City’s fixture page names the Etihad as the venue.

The local time and UTC time refer to the same kickoff. Manchester was still observing British Summer Time on October 20; the UK clocks changed back to Greenwich Mean Time on October 25, 2026. That later clock change does not alter the time shown for this match. Readers comparing international schedules should use the stated UTC timestamp or calculate their local conversion for October 20, rather than applying today’s offset to the event date.

How the five goals unfolded

City opened the scoring in the 12th minute. Enzo Fernández’s free kick struck the crossbar, and Anderson reacted first to the rebound to put the hosts ahead. It was Anderson’s first goal for City, according to the club’s match report. Foden made it 2-0 in the 34th minute after a move involving Rico Lewis, giving City a two-goal lead at halftime.

AEK got back into the match seven minutes after the break. Pilios finished a counterattack in the 52nd minute to make the score 2-1. City restored its two-goal cushion five minutes later: Cherki received Foden’s pass, created room with a drag-back, and finished in the 57th minute. The quick response stopped AEK’s goal from changing the flow of the contest for long.

Foden scored again in the 65th minute after another Lewis contribution, then completed his hat trick in the 76th minute from a cross by substitute Ryan McAidoo. City’s official report lists the scorers as Anderson (12), Foden (34, 65, 76), and Cherki (57); Pilios scored for AEK (52). The goals meant Foden finished with three, while Anderson and Cherki each scored once.

Confirmed starting lineups

Manchester City started Gianluigi Donnarumma; Rico Lewis, Abdukodir Khusanov, Rúben Dias (captain), and Joško Gvardiol; Elliot Anderson, Enzo Fernández, and Allan; Rayan Cherki, Phil Foden, and Floyd Samba. The club’s matchday page confirms the XI and lists its substitutes as Rulli, Bettinelli, Guéhi, Ndiaye, Haaland, Doku, Aït-Nouri, Reis, Bouaddi, McAidoo, and Braithwaite.

AEK Athens started Alberto Brignoli; Lazaros Rota, Harold Moukoudi (captain), Relvas, and Pilios; Majer, Arriaga, and Marin; Joao Mario, Varga, and Luka Jović. AEK’s listed substitutes were Balamotis, Kairinen, Gacinovic, Zubkov, Koita, Mantalos, Vida, Lykogiannis, Vitalis, and Zini. These are the matchday selections, not a complete injury list; a player’s absence from a team sheet does not by itself establish why that player was unavailable.

What the result meant in the league phase

The 5-1 win gave City six points from its first three league-phase matches. City had opened with a 2-0 win away to Porto, then lost 4-2 at home to Paris Saint-Germain before beating AEK. Manchester City’s post-match report placed the team sixth in the overall table ahead of the remaining Wednesday fixtures on October 21. That position was a snapshot at that time, not a final league-phase ranking.

AEK entered the Manchester game with three points, having beaten LASK 1-0 and lost 3-1 to Shakhtar Donetsk. The defeat in Manchester left the Greek side with three points after three matches. The league phase uses a single table, so each result contributes to the same standings; this was not a knockout tie and the score did not decide a two-leg aggregate contest.

The club also described the match as its 150th appearance in the European Cup/UEFA Champions League proper. For the league campaign, the immediate effect was three points for City after its previous European defeat. AEK, meanwhile, had to regroup after conceding five away goals. Those are consequences of the result, rather than predictions about how either club would finish the competition.

Team news and availability

Manchester City’s pre-match update reported that Antoine Semenyo would miss time after an injury, with manager Enzo Maresca estimating an absence of up to eight weeks. That was the club’s forecast before the AEK match; it should not be treated as a confirmed return date. Erling Haaland was named among City’s substitutes. The official post-match report reviewed for this update does not provide a new injury bulletin or a revised recovery timeline.

The confirmed team sheets identify who played and who was selected as a substitute. They do not explain every omission, and the cited official match reports do not announce a new suspension connected to this fixture. No cause for an absence or later availability should be inferred from selection alone.

How to follow the match now

Live kickoff coverage has ended. Before the game, Manchester City listed TNT Sports 1 as the UK live broadcaster and directed supporters to its official app for matchday updates. That was a pre-match UK listing, not a current live option. Broadcast rights and replay access depend on territory and service, so fans seeking a replay should check the relevant official competition or local broadcaster pages.

For a verified recap, Manchester City’s official match report provides the goal sequence, lineups, and post-match context, while its gallery has matchday photographs. UEFA’s match center and league-phase results page provide the competition record and final score. The key facts are: Manchester City 5-1 AEK Athens, at the Etihad Stadium on October 20, with kickoff at 8:00 p.m. BST (UTC+01:00), or 19:00 UTC. Foden scored three times, and Anderson, Cherki, and Pilios supplied the other goals.

Official sources: UEFA 2026/27 fixtures and results; UEFA match center; UEFA match information; UEFA lineups; Manchester City matchday page; Manchester City match report; Manchester City match gallery; Manchester City UK TV listing; UK clock-change dates.