AGUERO STRIKES TO EQUAL BROOK’S MAN CITY RECORD
▶ Victory over Burnley also sees Guardiola’s side match club’s best win streak of 11 matches
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola invited Sergio Aguero to take the squad out for dinner after the Argentina striker equalled the club’s all-time scoring record.
Aguero, 29, struck his 177th goal in City colours to level Eric Brook’s 79-year-old milestone when he converted a 30th-minute penalty to break the deadlock in yesterday’s 3-0 home win over Burnley.
“Aguero should pay a tribute to us. He should invite us to dinner maybe,” Guardiola joked after the game.
Guardiola said it won’t be long until Aguero holds the record outright.
“One more goal. It’s going to happen sooner or later.”
City had to work hard for openings, but made the game safe with two quick goals inside the final 20 minutes from Nicolas Otamendi and Leroy Sane.
Aguero was making his first start since breaking a rib in a car crash in Amsterdam three weeks ago in one of two changes to the team that had begun City’s last three matches, with Bernardo Silva making only his second league start as Gabriel Jesus and Raheem Sterling dropped to the bench.
Burnley, unbeaten in their opening four away league matches, were unchanged from the side who had drawn with West Ham United seven days earlier, and showed great discipline in the face of early City pressure.
The visitors almost broke through themselves after a quarter-of-an-hour, as Chris Wood burst past Kyle Walker and Otamendi, with Ederson diving bravely at the striker’s feet.
It was beginning to look as if City would be in for a frustrating afternoon, as goalkeeper Nick Pope beat out Bernardo Silva’s first-time shot from Sane’s left-wing cut-back, but they took the lead just before the half-hour in controversial circumstances.
Pope dived to his left to save well from Kevin de Bruyne, but as the ball ran loose, the goalkeeper was judged to have clipped Bernardo Silva, who fell to the ground.
Burnley protested furiously as Roger East pointed to the spot after replays suggest the Portugal international made the most of the coming together, but Guardiola felt it was the right call.
“It was a penalty,” he said. “Bernardo touched the goalkeeper. He touched Bernardo’s foot and put him down.”
Once the fuss abated, Aguero sent Pope the wrong way for his seventh Premier League goal of the campaign.
City found it tough to create clear chances in the second half as Burnley continued to be disciplined, with Pope blocking David Silva’s shot at the near post after good approach play from Aguero and Sane.
However, in the space of a couple of minutes, City scored two quick goals that put the match out of their opponents’ reach.
First, Sane delivered an outswinging corner met by Otamendi’s powerful 73rd minute header, with Steven Defour on the line unable to kick it clear.
Then De Bruyne’s 75th minute pass sent Sane clear to slot beyond Pope and complete another City win.
With second-place Manchester United crashing to a shock 2-1 defeat at promoted Huddersfield Town, City are now five points clear at the top of the Premier League.
They also equalled a club record of 11 successive wins in all competitions.
“The record is good if you lift something, titles or a trophy,” Guardiola said. “It means a lot. Of course it is not easy to win 11 in a row, so it’s good.”