Aguero’s magic act
Stunning goal brings house down to set City on way
EVEN by Sergio Aguero’s standards, his opening goal was a bit special.
When he picked up Raheem Sterling’s neat flick around 40 yards out, Norwich looked as though everything was under control.
Seconds later they were on their way out of the FA Cup, the Manchester City striker slotting past John Ruddy after a mesmerising run through the heart of the home defence.
His team-mates rushed over to congratulate the Argentinian for his latest slice of genius; City’s supporters chanted his name.
Even Norwich fans had to applaud. This was Aguero at his very best. ‘As he continues to play after his injury, his performances are improving,’ said Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini afterwards.
‘He scored a beautiful goal today, the more he plays the better he will play. The goal demonstrates he is now 100 per cent fit. We know how good he is, we need to keep him fit.’
Not that Aguero’s excellence would have been any consolation to Norwich’s players. But boss Alex Neil — who refused to reveal whether Ruddy had been disciplined after the club concluded their probe into an alleged nightclub brawl involving the keeper last month — has bigger goals, notably staying in the Premier League.
Despite the comprehensive nature of this win, City started slowly. It wasn’t long, though, before Kelechi Iheanacho and Aleksandar Kolarov, captaining the team in place of Yaya Toure, forced Ruddy into excellent saves.
Then came the moment, in the 16th minute, this match will be remembered for. Home supporters just looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders. No gripes, no complaints — just an acknowledgment that this was Aguero at his finest. Sebastian Bassong could have got tighter, Russell Martin could have timed his last-ditch tackle slightly better. Perhaps that would have made a difference. But sometimes you just have to hold your hands up. This was one of those occasions.
Norwich quickly looked for a leveller, though. Martin Olsson was menacing down the left, while Cameron Jerome’s strong running caused City’s defence some moments of alarm.
Had Willy Caballero not been equal to Jonny Howson’s long-range effort in the 25th minute, then Norwich would have found a route back into the match.
But six minutes later they were twodown, and Aguero was once again at the centre of it. Having just seen an angled shot saved by Ruddy, Aguero expertly controlled Fabian Delph’s long ball before starting his route to the heart of Norwich’s defence.
Martin gave the striker far too much time and Aguero punished Norwich by playing in Iheanacho, who fired a firsttime strike past Ruddy for his fifth goal of the season.
Jerome had the ball in the net in the 57th minute, but the goal was ruled out for offside.
Jesus Navas saw his fierce effort from 25 yards rattle off the crossbar in the 73rd minute as the visitors threatened to extend their advantage.
Five minutes later Kevin De Bruyne, who had earlier came on for Sterling, notched City’s third, firing through Ruddy’s legs after twisting Ryan Bennett inside and out. NORWICH CITY (3-4-3): Ruddy 5.5; Bennett 6, Martin 6, Bassong 6 (Lafferty 72, 6); Wisdom 6.5, Dorrans 6, Mulumbu 5.5 (O’Neil 64, 6), Olsson 6; Howson 6 (Redmond 63, 6), OdjidjaOfoe 6.5, Jerome 7. SubS (NOT uSed): Rudd, Whittaker, Mbokani, Andreu. bOOked: Martin, Dorrans. MAN CITY (4-4-2): Caballero 7; Zabaleta 7, Demichelis 6.5, Otamendi 6, Kolarov 7; Navas 7.5, Fernando 7, Delph 7.5, Sterling 7 (De Bruyne 61, 7.5); Iheanacho 8 (Celina 85), Aguero 8.5 (Clichy 70, 6). Subs (not used): Hart, Sagna, Humphreys, Horsfield. booked: None. RefeRee: Mike Dean, 6.5.