HEAR WE GO AGAIN
Aguero double lands slick City another trophy
PEP GUARDIOLA saw his Manchester City side smash Chelsea to claim the Community Shield – then revealed he wants another signing before Thursday’s transfer deadline.
Sizzling Sergio Aguero burst through the 200-goal barrier with his double as the champions gave an ominous warning of their power.
Guardiola admits he wants another
SEASON three of ‘Guardiola in the Premier League’ promises to be the best yet.
The same, sensational serial thrillers with even more Pep and – in £60million Riyad Mahrez and the outstanding youngster Phil Foden – more freshness and fearsome strength in depth.
Amazon Prime may be preparing to give us a behind-the-scenes glimpse at the procession Manchester City turned the title race into last season.
But, judging by the hunger and desire oozing from the champions to brush Chelsea aside here, Guardiola and his men are in the mood to set the bar even higher over the next 10 months. Matchwinner Sergio Aguero provided the razor-sharp finishes as he took his goal tally for the club to 201, but City grabbed Chelsea by the throat at the outset.
They shook the life out of the Londoners with their relentless high press and their superior distribution. By the end it should have been four or five.
Kevin De Bruyne, Raheem Sterling, Ederson and David Silva are all yet to return in time for this weekend’s big kick-off.
Yet if City’s priority this time around is going to be the Champions League anyway, Guardiola will sleep soundly knowing that this second string will make more than a few teams look silly this season. Alvaro Morata’s 17th-minute shot – high, wide and harmless – was Chelsea’s first touch in the City box and their first effort of the game.
Then 26 minutes to cause any threat at all to the recently-crowned kings of England. Welcome to the Premier League, Maurizio Sarri.
Aguero, remember, is no longer even Guardiola’s first choice up front. The future is Gabriel Jesus, nine years his junior at 21 and sat on the bench with the ink barely dry on his new, five-year deal.
When Guardiola sent him on in place of Mahrez with 23 minutes left you almost felt sorry for Chelsea.
Aguero had opened the scoring after just 12 minutes.
Fearless Foden (below) left all three of Chelsea’s central midfielders trailing in his wake as he drove into the heart of their defence.
He then slipped in Aguero who wrong-footed Antonio Rudiger before sending the ball into the bottom corner.
For his second, Aguero powered the ball past Willy Caballero after Bernardo Silva’s pass had left David Luiz – making his first start since January – chasing shadows.
“Champions of Europe, you’ll never sing that!” taunted the Chelsea fans, grasping at the only straws they could find.
You’d struggle to find anyone of a Bridge persuasion, however, willing to put money on that.
Sarri might have succeeded in spiriting away the highlyrated Jorginho from under City’s noses last month but on this evidence Chelsea are going to need so much more to get anywhere near Guardiola’s side this season.
Yes, the likes of Thibaut Courtois, Eden Hazard, N’Golo Kante, Olivier Giroud and Gary Cahill were all still absent. But Courtois and Hazard want out, while of the other three, only Kante is a guaranteed starter.
Seventeen-year-old winger Callum Hudson-Odoi was one of the few Blues players to emerge with any credit from this debacle.
But City were comfortable throughout. They haven’t done too much transfer business but why would they need to with left-back Benjamin Mendy like a new signing after last season’s lengthy injury lay-off? With Brahim Diaz forcing his way into the first-team picture and with the excellent Foden ready to rumble? The exit of defender Aymeric Laporte, who picked up a knock, sent out a slight worry. But substitute Vincent Kompany proved his fitness ahead of the new campaign with a crunching, legitimate challenge on Victor Moses.
There would be no reply from Chelsea to the two-goal salvo with which City picked up where they left off last season.
In fact, it would have been even worse had Aguero not missed another two chances and substitute Diaz and Bernardo Silva not blown opportunities to score in stoppage time.
As it is, City look in formidable shape going into their opening game of the Premier League next Sunday.
Good luck Arsenal.