TOON FRYER
Sergio sizzles yet again as he haunts Magpies
Sergio Aguero tormented Newcastle once again as his hat- trick got leaders City back to winning ways.
The Argentinian, who scored f ive in a game against the Magpies back in 2015, hit a treble as the Manchester men bounced back from last week’s first league loss of the season at Liverpool. Jacob Murphy briefly gave Toon hope of snatching a draw by reducing the arrears to 2-1 after 67 minutes but Aguero settled the game with his third seven minutes from time. He said: “We’re really happy with the victory. We needed it after last week. It’s a long season though and we’ve not won anything yet. “We need to keep going and pushing on to the next game.” Gaffer Pep Guardiola (right) said: “We need 10 more wins to be champions and we’ll try for more points. “We didn’t panic at 2-1 down.” City’s breakthrough came in 34 minutes when Aguero rose to get the faintest of touches on a fine cross from Kevin De Bruyne. The home side carried their momentum into the second half and Aguero got his second from the spot after Raheem Sterling was bundled over in the box by Javier Manquillo. Within moments the Magpies were back in the game as Ciaran Clark seized on a mistake by Nicolas Otamendi and released Murphy. Murphy raced clear of Oleksandr Zinchenko and calmly finished. That gave Newcastle hope and they caused alarm when Mohamed Diame tested Ederson with a shot. But it was Aguero who completed his hat-trick with a turn and shot. Magpies manager Rafa Benitez said: “The penalty was a bit soft and it changed things. “I have been praising the players the whole season in terms of effort , sometimes it’s a bit of luck that you need.”