Foden hat-trick in Man City 5-1 win as Champions League sets new goals-per-game record
Phil Foden scored a hat-trick as Manchester City beat AEK Athens 5-1 in the Champions League, in a week that saw the competition set a new goals-per-game record. The tournament has produced 187 goals so far, an average of 4.16 per game — the highest in Champions League history.
Since the current Champions League format was introduced at the start of the 2024-25 season, the competition has featured more teams and more fixtures, and goals have trended upward over the past two campaigns. This season’s scoring rate represents a genuine boom in goals. The 4.16 goals-per-game average is the third highest in European Cup history, behind only 1959-60 (4.19) and 1955-56 (4.38).
Forty goals were scored across nine games on Tuesday, while last Wednesday produced 46 goals — the third highest-scoring day in Champions League history. The 78 goals across Tuesday and Wednesday last week made matchday two the highest-scoring matchday on record, nine more than the 69 goals recorded on matchday one this season.
Uefa announced plans to alter the Champions League format in 2021 and those changes were implemented for the 2024-25 season. The competition began as a six-team invitational in 1955-56, expanded to a 32-team knockout tournament in 1967 and became the Champions League in 1992; a brief period with two group stages was reverted to a single group-stage format for 2003-04.
For 2024-25 the group stage was replaced by a 36-team league phase, with each side playing eight one-off fixtures instead of six games against three teams. Under the new system the top eight finishers qualify directly for the knockout stages, those placed ninth to 24th enter a two-legged play-off stage and the bottom eight are eliminated, meaning that after eight matches 24 sides remain in the competition.
"Look how many goals have been scored, it's phenomenal," ex-Manchester United and England winger Ashley Young said on BBC Radio 5 Live, while former Liverpool defender Stephen Warnock described the volume of goals as "incredible". The Times football writer Tom Arnott told BBC Radio 5 Live: "I think the entertainment has gone up, although I'm not sure the quality has gone up. If I'm looking at the games it's brilliant to watch and thrilling because the football itself is fantastic - but what do they mean? The lack of jeopardy, why would PSG and Barcelona play for a draw, why not go for it? If you need five wins from the eight games you know you've got some margin there. If you lose it's OK. I think the format allows all the teams to loosen up. The entertainment value is there but I think you come away from these matches sometimes and still think 'what does it all mean?'. The lack of jeopardy early on does deliver entertainment."
Other match narratives referenced alongside the scoring surge include "Doue impresses as PSG beat Barcelona in thriller", "The night 'ruthless' Ngumoha came of age for Liverpool" and the question "No Haaland, no problem - can Foden be Man City's alternative goalscorer?" Highlights of every Champions League game are available from 22:00 on Wednesday on BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website and app, and there will be a Champions League Match of the Day on BBC One on Wednesday from 22:40 to 00:00.
Will the record fall again this week? The report notes: "It's already halfway there."
