Guardiola ready to play without Aguero
Suspension for elbow incident would rule star striker out of the Manchester derby
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola was relaxed about the possibility of losing star forward Sergio Aguero to suspension after television footage appeared to show him elbowing West Ham United’s Winston Reid on Sunday.
Aguero could face retrospective action by the Football Association, and suspension, if the incident in City’s 3-1 Premier League win is judged to have been deliberate.
That would rule him out of City’s next game, the eagerlyawaited derby away to Manchester United at Old Trafford on September 10. “I didn’t see it,” said Guardiola of the incident at Eastlands following a win that left City top of the table on goal difference.
“I am new here so I don’t know how it works,” the Spaniard added. “I didn’t see so I cannot comment. Hopefully nothing happens. If it happens, we accept and adapt. If we lose him, we lose him. We are going to play with 11.”
Anxious moments
Two goals from Raheem Sterling and one from Fernandinho clinched a fifth win in as many league and cup games under Guardiola’s management, although a header from Michail Antonio — called up into the England After Sunday’s matches (played, won, drawn, lost, goals for, against, points):
Man City 3 Chelsea 3 Man Utd 3 Everton 3 Hull 3 Boro 3 Tottenham 3 Arsenal 3 Leicester 3 West Brom 3 Liverpool 3 West Ham 3 Burnley 3 Swansea 3 S’ampton 3 Sunderland 3 Palace 3 Watford 3 B’mouth 3 Stoke 3
3 3 3 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 1 0 2 2 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 2 1 1 1 1 1
0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 1 2 2 2 2 2
9 7 6 4 4 3 3 6 3 2 5 3 2 2 2 3 1 3 2 2
3 2 1 2 2 2 2 5 3 2 6 5 4 4 4 5 3 6 5 6
9 9 9 7 6 5 5 4 4 4 4 3 3 3 2 1 1 1 1 1 squad for the first time later Sunday — brought West Ham back to 2-1 and provided City with some anxious moments.
However, for all the changes former Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss Guardiola has made at his new club in fewer than two months, the form of Sterling has been most startling after a difficult debut season with the club and a terrible European Championship campaign with England in France.
“What have I done to him? Nothing,” insisted Guardiola. “I have tried to do the best for all the players. Raz [Sterling] has scored two goals, was good but the games before was more brilliant than today [Sunday].”