Enzo Maresca affirmed his confidence in Phil Foden's ability to play an influential role in Manchester City's campaign during the current season, after watching him score three goals (hat-tricks) in the landslide victory over AEK Athens (5-1), in the European Champions League.
The British news agency (PA Media) reported that Elliot Anderson scored his first goal for Manchester City, and Rayan Sharqi also scored a wonderful goal with a distinctive artistic touch, but Foden stole the spotlight in the match. Foden entered his team's match against Ipswich last Saturday without scoring any goals since December, after suffering from a decline in his level and lack of participation for the second season in a row, before he ended up outside the England national team's squad for the World Cup.
After being sent off during Manchester City's win in the city derby against Manchester United last September, Foden was away from the field for a month, but returned to score a goal in the 3-2 win over Ipswich on Saturday, before providing glimpses of his distinguished level, by scoring a hat-trick in Tuesday's match.
Maresca said: “I said from day one, I consider him one of the best English players. For various reasons in the last two or three years he has not been good enough, but I know well his abilities, so I am trying to help him, because we are confident that he will offer a lot to the team this season.
Foden's first and second goals came with two assists from his teammate Rico Lewis, a graduate of the club's academy, before Lewis also contributed to creating the third goal, which Foden scored with an assist from Ryan McAidoo, one of the rising talents from the youth ranks.
The match was a special night for the Manchester City Academy, as striker Floyd Samba started instead of Erling Haaland, helping the team field the youngest starting lineup in its history in a Champions League match, with an average age of 24 years and 65 days. Mac Aidoo and Kayden Braithwaite - both 18 years old - also participated as substitutes during the match.
Maresca said: “The three players coming from the academy performed well, especially Floyd, who started. “He was good in the game before the first goal, when the team got the free kick, and he played a good game overall.”
He added: “Ryan McAidoo left his mark immediately upon his participation, as did Kayden, and so I feel very happy. It is always a pleasure for me to give these players the opportunity to participate, even if for a short time.”
He continued: “Phil, who is also a graduate of the academy, also scored a hat-trick, so I think it was a good night, and at the same time we had the opportunity to rest the players who have participated in every match since the beginning of the season.”
The trial for the death of Argentine football legend Diego Maradona entered its final stage on Tuesday, with defense arguments demanding the innocence of psychologist Carlos Dias and psychiatrist Agustina Kosashov, as their lawyers described them as having nothing to do with the death, or that they were powerless to prevent it, or were not fully aware of the facts.
Dias, an addiction treatment specialist, is considered a special case in the ongoing trial since April to try the medical team that supervised Maradona’s treatment on charges of negligence that led to his death, after his death in November 2020 during a period of home hospitalization after undergoing neurological surgery that was described as simple.
Dias, 34, joined during the last month of Maradona's life to help him quit alcohol and psychotropic drugs.
While the prosecution and civil parties called for the imprisonment of six of the seven defendants, the Dias case clearly divided, reflecting a degree of ambiguity about the true responsibilities surrounding Maradona in his final days.
The public prosecution demanded that he be imprisoned for five years, which was supported by two other parties, while the lawyer for one of Maradona’s sons demanded that he be imprisoned for 12 years, while two other parties called for his complete acquittal.
His lawyer, Luciano Zorrilla, said at the beginning of the defense arguments on Tuesday: “They could not agree on the nature of the accusation against Carlos Dias nor on the reasons that make him responsible for Maradona’s death. This is a pivotal point in this trial.” He added that the different parties “presented contradictory and conflicting narratives regarding his role,” stressing that “the absence of certainty means the presence of doubt, and with the presence of doubt comes acquittal.”
For his part, his other lawyer, Diego Olmedo, said: “Dias is not a doctor, nurse, or radiologist. He is a psychologist. He was contracted to prevent Maradona from drinking alcohol or using drugs, and Maradona died without alcohol or drugs in his blood,” he said, citing the results of toxicological examinations conducted after death.
He added that the death was “the result of medical problems beyond the jurisdiction of Carlos Dias.” He is a psychologist,” stressing that “by virtue of his specialty and role, he had no possibility of preventing death in any way.”
Maradona was found dead in his bed inside a house in the Tigre region, north of Buenos Aires, which had been rented for his recovery period, at the age of 60, following a cardiorespiratory attack accompanied by pulmonary edema.
During his plea in defense of psychiatrist Kosashov (41 years old), whom the prosecution demanded to be imprisoned for eight years, lawyer Vadim Mishanchuk also stressed the nature of his client’s specialty, stressing that “she was clear from the beginning when she said: (I am Maradona’s psychiatrist),” and that her role was limited to supervising drug treatment related to that specialty.
On the other hand, he directed sharp accusations against the private medical services company Swiss Medical, whose representative, Nancy Forlini, who is accused of her role in the case, was the medical coordinator for Maradona’s recovery period. The prosecution had demanded ten years in prison.
He said, “Dr. Kosashov never acted impromptuly. On the contrary, if we read the medical file, we will find that she was meticulous to the point of obsession in following up on Maradona’s condition.” But he pointed out that she did not receive the necessary information or was receiving incomplete information, and was even excluded from some correspondence groups between the company and the nurses.
He added: “No one informed her of cases of rapid heartbeat or high blood pressure. No one told her anything. “She collected the information she could get her hands on and only received what others wanted to tell her.”
He continued: “Whenever I learned of bad news, I took action to address it,” blaming Swiss Medical in return, which he said “was behaving as it wanted.”
He described the flow of medical information from Maradona's place of recovery as "like the Bermuda Triangle."
The defense arguments are expected to continue until Thursday, with the verdict being postponed to a later date.
The head of the Independent Football Regulatory Authority in England, David Cogan, said that the new authority has the power to oblige any owner to leave his club, and it can also open an independent investigation into the Manchester City case after deciding on the club’s appeal against the ruling that concluded it had committed 114 alleged violations of the financial regulations of the English Premier League.
Kogan explained that the authority will subject club owners and senior officials to integrity tests according to its own standards, with the authority to exclude any owner who does not meet those standards.
He said during the “The Rest is Football” podcast: “We have the power to ask any owner to exit the club if we believe that it is not being managed in a sound, fair or appropriate manner.”
When asked by co-presenter Alastair Campbell if the owner could refuse, he replied: “No, not at all. We have full authority to do so.”
The Independent Football Regulatory Authority was established in July 2025, with the aim of protecting the financial sustainability of the game in England, and was granted broad powers to supervise owners and managers and intervene when clubs are exposed to financial risks.
The authority’s powers have gained special importance in light of Manchester City’s appeal of the ruling issued against it. Kogan confirmed that the authority will wait for the completion of all procedures before deciding whether to open a separate investigation.
He said: “I will not get ahead of myself by issuing any judgment before all the facts become clear.” “After that, we will decide whether to open our own investigation, what conclusions we will reach, and what actions we may take.”
He added: “Rushing into such a case would be a grave mistake.”
Cogan pointed out that the authority’s role differs from that of the English Premier League, as its focus is on the people who own or manage the clubs, not on punishing the clubs themselves.
“We will hold owners, managers and senior executives to our standards, and we will evaluate the actions of these individuals,” he said.
He added: “We are not in a position that allows us to impose sporting sanctions on clubs, unlike the English Premier League, which can impose fines, deduct points, or take similar measures.”
Cogan also stressed that the legislation that established the authority does not automatically give it the power to prevent state-backed takeovers of English clubs.
He said: “The law does not allow us to reject a deal just because the owner is a sovereign wealth fund, for example.”
He added: “We are committed to the framework within which this legislation was developed, which does not prohibit such acquisitions.”
During the interview with Gary Lineker and Alistair Campbell, Coogan revealed details of proposals aimed at ending the ongoing dispute over revenue distribution between the Premier League and the English Football League.
He said: “The English Premier League is currently talking about more than doubling what it pays annually in what is known as solidarity payments, which is money that flows to the lower divisions.”
He explained that the proposals include reducing payments allocated to clubs relegated from the Premier League, in exchange for a significant increase in funds directed to second-tier clubs.
He added that these amendments would reduce the financial gap between the relegated clubs that receive relegation payments and their competitors in the second division, thus enhancing competitive balance and increasing the excitement of competition.
Kogan also expressed his surprise at the amount of spending on players' agents, noting that their total commissions exceeded 500 million pounds sterling.
“Agents’ fees are incredibly high,” he said. “We are talking about more than 500 million pounds, that is half a billion pounds.”
He added, "Honestly, I would much rather see this money spent on players."
Cogan also pointed to another source of concern, which is the financial dues exchanged between the clubs, which are estimated at billions of pounds sterling, noting that transfer deal debts continue to rise at a rapid pace.
