Aguero, Sterling and fans rub salt in wounds of City’s great rivals
It was not long after Sergio Aguero had put Manchester City 2-0 in front with a truly bewitching goal that he fashioned and finished that the chants began. Cries of “Don’t sack Mourinho” were quickly followed by “Jose Mourinho, we want you to stay” before City’s jubilant fans broke into a chorus of “We’ve got … Guardiola”. Talk about rubbing salt into gaping wounds.
The Manchester clubs are operating in different worlds in the same city these days and, having arrived at the Etihad to the news that United had gone down 3-1 at West Ham, City’s afternoon was soon made all the sweeter by a routine victory memorable for two goals of the highest class. With just seven league games played, City are already nine points clear of their rivals.
United used to score these sort of fast, free-flowing, arresting goals but now City are the country’s great entertainers. The biggest compliment you could pay the champions, their goals aside, was that they controlled the game throughout, never giving Brighton & Hove Albion so much as a sniff, despite operating at what looked about 60 or 70 per cent capacity.
By the end they had 28 shots to show for 80 per cent possession and it was remarkable to hear Pep Guardiola explain afterwards that Aguero was not even properly fit. Not that anyone would have guessed it but the Argentina striker is being hampered by a heel injury he picked up against Newcastle at the start of the month, hence his substitution moments after scoring.
Guardiola is hopeful he will be fit to face Hoffenheim in the Champions League on Tuesday. “There are two more games before the international break so hopefully during the break he can recover properly,” Guardiola said.
Asked if his team were playing as well as last season, he said: “Yeah, most of the time and, in some situations, even better.
“After what happened last season you always have fear of dropping points at this stage but, in general, all the performances were quite good but we’re just in September.”
You know an identity really is being forged on the field when a team starts to deal in trademark goals. City fans could have been forgiven for feeling a sense of deja vu watching the electrifying 80-yard dashes that culminated, first, in Raheem Sterling claiming his fourth goal in six league games and, then, Aguero his 15th in his last 11 league matches at the Etihad.
The clock was approaching the halfhour when Bernardo Silva collected a loose ball and fed Aguero, who surged forward, drew in Lewis Dunk and then slipped the ball into Leroy Sane overlapping on the left. Shane Duffy came across in a vain bid to cut out the German’s cross but it was no good – Sane drilled the ball across the six-yard box to Sterling at the far post who slid in to score.
He should have scored again soon after but was denied by Brighton goalkeeper Matthew Ryan but he had an important hand in the second.
When Jurgen Locadia shanked the ball into the path of Nicolas Otamendi, the City centre half played it quickly into the feet of Aguero. The Argentine laid the ball off to David Silva, swivelled, received it back and then he was off, wriggling away from a couple of markers, nutmegging poor Dunk before threading a pass to Sterling with an army of Brighton players trailing in his wake. With Aguero continuing his run into Brighton’s penalty area, Sterling returned the ball first time, and there was Aguero to sweep home the finish.
Game over. Cue the chants.