Aguero fires City to brink of Premier League title
LONDON: With a stunning goal during his long farewell to Manchester City, Sergio Aguero nudged the team to the brink of another Premier League title on Saturday.
The Argentine striker showed his scoring instincts are still sharp ahead of his departure from City after 10 years by rifling a finish into the roof of the net in the 57th minute to set up a 2-0 win over Crystal Palace.
His record-extending 258th goal for City left Pep Guardiola in awe. “What a goal, what an action, what a man,” the City manager said. “We are going to enjoy the last games with him.”
Just 84 seconds later, Ferran Torres — a player at the opposite end of his City career — scored the 10th goal of the 21-year-old Spain winger’s debut season in England by curling home a low, left-footed finish from the edge of the area. It was a one-two blow by Guardiola’s heavily rotated team — due to the game coming between the two legs of the Champions League semifinal against PSG — which took a while to get going at Selhurst Park but is now within three points of winning the title.
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Spanish league on Saturday.
Other than Llorente’s firsthalf goal, Atlético relied on its defense and almost paid for it in the final moments when Llorente used his arm to disrupt a cross into the box.
But Diego Simeone’s side dodged another costly stumble away from home when Elche’s Fidel Chaves fired the resulting penalty kick off the left post.
“It was an obligation to win today,” Llorente said. “These three points give us a lot of strength for what’s ahead. Winning is always a boost to the team’s spirit and confidence, and even more so now that we are reaching the finale.”
Atlético’s first road victory in five trips let it open a five-point gap over Real Madrid and Barcelona, with Sevilla just one more point back.
Inter Milan are set to deny Juve a 10th consecutive crown with the Turin giants now battling for a Champions League spot. “I’m calm concerning my work,” the 41-year-old former Italy World Cup winner told a press conference before Sunday’s league game at Udinese.
Inter can seal the ‘Scudetto’ this weekend, with Juventus sitting fourth, 13 points behind the leaders, with five games to play.