Manchester City

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Owner Bill Foley believes Bournemouth is the "right place" for midfielder Alex Scott to be and says the Cherries have not given up hope of the midfielder signing a new contract.

The 23-year-old England international has a £100m asking price after a £64m offer from Chelsea was rejected in the summer.

Speaking to Talksport, Foley said: "At this point, we're convinced we're the right place for Alex to be and to stay, and we'll keep on addressing the contract issues with Alex as we move through this year.

"We'd love to have Alex stay here and sign a new contract and be part of this team for the long haul.

"We haven't given up, but sometimes players get stars in their eyes and they think that Chelsea or Manchester City is the right place to go."

Scott, who is sidelined with a thigh injury suffered on England duty, is contracted to Bournemouth until June 2028.

Shamoon Hafez
Manchester City reporter

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Manchester City forward Rayan Cherki is currently "one of the best players in Europe", according to manager Enzo Maresca.

Cherki, 23, has started this season in impressive fashion for City, scoring six goals and providing two assists in 11 matches so far.

The France international pulled out his bag of tricks and flicks during Tuesday's 5-1 Champions League hammering of AEK Athens.

"I like when the players are happy, 100%," said Maresca. "I also like simple things.

"The most difficult thing in football is to do the easy things - don't complicate it. Sometimes players that are so good like Rayan, they can do that. In this moment, Rayan is one of the best players in Europe.

"When he is in the right position - that means when we are able to find him between the lines - he is always dangerous and he has the quality in the box.

"If we are able to keep him there and find him between the lines and in the right position, he is one of the best players in Europe."

Josh Lobley
BBC Sport journalist

Manchester City boss Enzo Maresca has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Premier League game against Aston Villa at Villa Park (kick-off 12:30 BST).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Matheus Nunes, Mateo Kovacic and Nico O'Reilly "could all be available" for Saturday's match but there are "still doubts" over the trio. Maresca confirmed that Erling Haaland is "100% available".

• When asked what he has done with Phil Foden since arriving at the club: "I have sat down with Phil two or three times, especially at the beginning, to show him how important he is. In the past few years he was not good enough for different reasons. But when you have more players like Phil, you are a better team."

• He described Rayan Cherki as "one of the best in Europe when he is in the right position" but stressed the importance of the team not individuals: "It's not about one player. They are all special. Rayan is a top player but we have another 20 top players. It's about finding the right balance of what we want."

• Maresca still wants to improve in "all areas" despite a near-perfect start to the season: "We can attack and defend better. In the past three games we had the best defence in the league before our game started, but then we concede goals. I am always looking for how we can improve."

• More on improvement: "Sometimes we forget it has been just three or four months since we started. I was here before but it is a completely new project. We only started months ago but that's why I'm sure we can improve."

• On Saturday's opponents: "I have huge respect for Unai [Emery]. He has done well at every club he has been to. They are a very good team and you can see clearly what they want; they are very intense off the ball. They are in a good mood at the moment and winning games."

Hit play above to hear more from Maresca or listen on BBC Sounds here

Follow all of Thursday's football news

The full match highlights of Manchester City's commanding 5-1 win over AEK Athens are now available.

It was a victory that saw Enzo Maresca's side return to winning ways in the Champions League group phase, with two wins and one defeat from three games.

Relive Phil Foden's clinical hat-trick, Elliot Anderson's first goal for the club and Rayan Cherki's trademark finish below.

Dale Johnson
Football issues correspondent

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The Premier League's Key Match Incidents Panel has backed the red card shown to Liverpool's Ryan Gravenberch against Manchester City.

The Netherlands international was sent off by referee Chris Kavanagh for two bookable offences, the first caution coming in the 47th minute for a trip on Elliot Anderson.

"I think the first foul is never a yellow card," Liverpool boss Andoni Iraola said after the game. "These kinds of games, just a stomp on the big toe, or something minor."

Gravenberch received his second yellow card in the 62nd minute for bringing down Jeremy Doku, who could have started a promising attack for City.

The game was goalless at the time, and City went on to win 3-0.

The KMI Panel makes a judgement on both yellow cards when assessing a red card shown for two cautions, but it was a 4:1 vote in favour of the referee's decisions.

Only one panel member voted it to be a mistake on-field, on the basis that the foul on Anderson was not a yellow card offence.

The video assistant referee is now able to initiate a review on the second yellow card element, but the choice to make no intervention was supported by the Key Match Incidents Panel unanimously.

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Former Premier League winger Ashley Young has praised Phil Foden and Rayan Cherki's "sublime link-up play" in Manchester City's 5-1 win over AEK Athens in the Champions League.

Foden was the most featured name on the scoresheet, having scored a hat-trick and provided an assist to help Enzo Maresca's side back to winning ways in the competition.

"Phil Foden always wants to play close to goal - and that's when he's at his best," Young told BBC Radio 5 Live's Football Daily. "He wants to be in that number 10 position, but when you've got Rayan Cherki producing and playing the way he is then it is hard to get that opportunity.

"However, it was all about Foden against AEK Athens.

"With Erling Haaland not playing, there needed to be players running in behind and passing between players. I have to say, the link-up play between Foden and Cherki was sublime.

"It was unplayable at times, and AEK Athens didn't know what was going on or which way to turn. Cherki looked like he was having fun out there and Foden took the opportunity to show everybody what he's about once again.

"He was laying down a marker to say: 'Listen, I'm back'."

Former Liverpool defender Stephen Warnock added: "It will be interesting to see how Enzo Maresca deals with this, especially in terms of how he goes about drip feeding Cherki and Foden game time.

"One of them is going to be disappointed when they don't play, so how will he reiterate that both of them are still vitally important players for his system?

"The reality is every player wants to play every minute, but they can't. The game has evolved since I was a player, these days you have to be ready to step up two games down the line while also being ready to step in for 30 minutes of the next game."

Listen to the full podcast on BBC Sounds here

We asked for your thoughts after Manchester City's 5-1 win over AEK Athens in the Champions League on Tuesday.

Here are some of your comments:

Harry: Philip Walter Foden. I might be wrong, but if we get banished to the seventh hell for breaches of financial regulations, he'll be there fighting our demons. It's why all this talk of "Foden's lost it" has to be ignored, because no real City fan would ever give up on this lad. Yes, this was AEK Athens, but to see Rayan Cherki, Allan, Enzo Fernandez and Foden move in the way they were - it's just top-tier football. We might go down, but we'll go down being the best footballing side this country has ever seen. This was a must win and we walked it. CTID!

Jessica: As a life long City fan, I loved Pep Guardiola, but I felt that in the past couple of years that his style of play was boring and slow. Players like Foden and Rico Lewis were fading. Now, Enzo Maresca is giving them freedom and they are blossoming again. Lewis summed it up after the match by saying his instructions were simple to understand, - in other words, Pep's instructions weren't.

GameGoSalfordBlueM40: Pleased as I was with the 5-1 result (+4 GD), we could have, and quite easily should have, scored a couple more to boost our goal difference. But let's not be too greedy, eh lads! That said, three points was most important when it comes to qualification, and more specifically [finishing] top eight. Phil Foden hat-rick was so good. Glad I was there. Proud.

Eddie: City going well, Foden back to his best - what's not to like? City fan for 50 years, I just love it.

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A smiling Phil Foden gliding across the turf in full flow is a joy for Manchester City fans to watch and he sent them home happy after a performance in which he had a hand in four of the five goals.

Striker Erling Haaland was named in the squad but ultimately given the night off after sustaining a blow to the foot in the previous game, giving Enzo Maresca the chance to explore his suggestion that Foden could offer a "solution" in the false nine role.

After starting on the right, he moved into that position later in the game and it paid dividends, with Foden saying he "really enjoyed" the role.

Though there was a brief scare for City at the start of the second half when the visitors pulled a goal back to trail 2-1, they found another gear and were out of sight by the final whistle.

And by then, Foden had become just the third Englishman to score a hat-trick and provide an assist in a Champions League match after Wayne Rooney for Manchester United in 2004 and former team-mate Raheem Sterling for City in 2019.

While the first and third goals were converted from close range, the second was a stunning finish from just inside the area, Foden opening up his body and caressing a first-time effort into the top corner.

"Beautiful - that's the word I would use to describe him," former City defender Joleon Lescott said of Foden on TNT Sports. "His finishing was exquisite.

"I think he has convinced the manager that if Erling Haaland isn't available for any reason throughout the season, then he is the man to play at number nine."

Read the analysis in full here

Man City boss Enzo Maresca, speaking to TNT Sports: "I think it was a complete performance. It was not easy, especially after the PSG game.

"So we had two games, Ipswich and today that we needed to win and, yes, we did our job. I think again, we concede the goal in transition, but probably could have made something better in that situation.

"Again, we scored five. We could have probably scored more, but happy also because some of the players were not playing many minutes. They were ready and this is important.

"To be honest, it is the best feeling for any manager when you make many changes, but at the end the performance is good, so happy for especially them.

On Phil Foden: "It is good news for me because you know he is doing well and this is what we want for many reasons. First of all, because he is a top player and we know that. Happy for him, but also happy for the team that we have one more weapon that we can use."

On youngsters: "For the academy I think we are three players from the academy that made their debut tonight, so it is nice news for the academy and for the club. We are happy with that."

On Josko Gvardiol: "No, he is OK. He had a small problem during the warm-up in his back, but he could play and he was OK."

Man City forward Phil Foden, speaking to TNT Sports: "I enjoyed that a lot. The lads were great again. We showed determination again. It wasn't pretty at times. I thought we stuck at the gameplan, we kept going and in the end we broke them down.

"Probably the second [goal], the way it went it - delighted to score goals. I am a forward, so I have to keep scoring and helping the team. Good for my confidence."

On returning to his best form: "Slowly, but surely. Still got a long way to go, but I am going in the right direction.

"Scoring along the way definitely helps. I want to keep working hard and keep being the best I can for the manager and the team.

"When I changed into that false nine role I enjoyed it a lot. Really enjoyed that role tonight."

On supporting young players: Trying to help them the best I can with the captains. Try help the young ones, and it shows the trust the manager has. We have a lot of injuries and he is not afraid to use the young lads."

Did you know?

• This was Manchester City's 10th win in 12 matches in all competitions this season (L2) – of sides in Europe's big-five leagues, only Barcelona have won more (11).

• Aged 24 years and 63 days, this was Manchester City's youngest ever lineup for a Champions League game.

Listen to more from Maresca above or on BBC Sounds here

Man City starting XI:

Gianluigi Donnarumma: Barely had anything to do apart from picking the ball out of the net for Athens' goal. 6

Rico Lewis: Had the freedom to get forward at will and provided the assists for two of Foden's goals. 7

Ruben Dias: The captain won more tackles than any team-mate but will be disappointed his side could not keep a clean sheet again. 6

Abdukodir Khusanov: Uzbek centre-back was unfussy and managed more interceptions than anyone else on the pitch. 6

Josko Gvardiol: Another that made marauding runs up field continuously in a tireless outing. 6

Elliot Anderson: All-action midfielder showed his poacher's instinct, reacting quickest to open the scoring from close range. 7

Enzo Fernandez: Curled a delightful free-kick against the crossbar from which Anderson scored. Almost bagged in the second period. 7

Allan: Showcased his pace from the left flank and unlucky not to score when he smashed a rising drive against the crossbar. 6

Rayan Cherki: Picked up pockets of space in the final third and produced some lovely touches before scoring in the second half. 8

Phil Foden: A magnificent display. Beginning to find his form in front of goal as he has now scored in back-to-back games, including a stunning second. Also set up Cherki's goal. 10

Floyd Samba: Another decent performance, the teenager, the teenager showed quick feet to win the free-kick which led to the first goal. 6

Man City substitutes:

Ryan McAidoo (on 62, Samba): Provided the pin point cross for the goal that sealed Foden's hat-trick. 6

Vitor Reis (on 72, Gvardiol): 6

Rayan Ait-Nouri (on 72, Fernandez): 6

Kaden Braithwaite (on 82, Dias): 6

Subs not used: Rulli, Bettinelli, Guehi, Ndiaye, Haaland, Doku, Bouaddi

Read the full article and see how you rated the players

Whether you were at the game or following from elsewhere, we want to know what you learned.

Get in touch with your views here

Reaction and analysis to follow - and come back to this page on Wednesday to find a selection of your replies.

There are nine games in the Champions League on Tuesday and BBC Sport will bring you every moment.

• Fenerbahce v Slavia Prague (17:45)

• Sabah v Borussia Dortmund (17:45)

• Liverpool v Villarreal

• Manchester City v AEK Athens

• Napoli v Bodo/Glimt

• Paris St-Germain v Barcelona

• Porto v PSV Eindhoven

• Roma v Slovan Bratislava

• Stuttgart v Atletico Madrid

Kick-off times 20:00 BST unless stated

Follow all of the action and reaction here

Watch highlights of every Champions League game from 22:00 on Wednesday on BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website and app.

There will also be a Champions League Match of the Day on BBC One from 22:40 to 00:00 on Wednesday.

How to follow the Champions League on the BBC

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A new episode of Football On Trial: The Manchester City Charges podcast series is available to listen to and download on BBC Sounds.

So, eight months on from the initial four episodes, the independent commission has finally reached its verdict and City were found guilty on almost all the charges, including using "sham contracts" to disguise more than £800m in funding over nine years.

A City appeal is currently being heard.

Rick Edwards is joined by The Observer's Rory Smith and Xavier Greenwood to make sense of the verdict and its repercussions.

You can listen to the full episode above or on BBC Sounds here

Shamoon Hafez
Manchester City reporter

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Manchester City face the prospect of being without star striker Erling Haaland for Tuesday's Champions League game against AEK Athens.

The Norway international scored twice in Saturday's 3-2 victory over Ipswich Town to take his tally to eight Premier League goals for the season, leading the top-flight scoring charts once more.

But the 26-year-old suffered a blow to the foot in the game and is a doubt for the European night at Etihad Stadium, as City look to get back to winning ways in the competition after last week's 4-2 defeat by Paris St-Germain.

"To replace Erling is always difficult but we have some different options," said manager Enzo Maresca. "It also depends on the gameplan.

"At the moment, it is Erling. Why do we need to think of a different nine if Erling is there? If something happened or we need a different nine plan, we'll see."

It can be difficult for players to feature as back-ups to Haaland, as Julian Alvarez and Omar Marmoush have found in the past, but it was a surprise when Divin Mubama was allowed to join Championship side Southampton on loan in the summer.

It left City without a natural replacement in Haaland's absence.

Maresca has previously said Antoine Semenyo can be used "as a nine" but that plan is no longer available with the Ghanaian facing the prospect of missing up to 13 matches.

One option mooted by the Italian is midfielder Phil Foden, who ended his barren run in front of goal on Saturday by scoring his first Premier League goal since December.

"Phil can be one of the solutions," said Maresca. "He played already in the past in that position so could play again, but at the moment the number nine is Erling."

Could summer signing Iliman Ndiaye be another option?

The Senegal international was often deployed as a striker in Sheffield United's promotion-winning campaign in 2022-23, scoring 14 goals to help the Blades return to the Premier League.

Last season, Pep Guardiola said Rayan Cherki fits playing in the false nine role "perfectly", with the Frenchman scoring in a 2-0 Carabao Cup quarter-final win over Brentford when used in that position.

Read full piece here