Pep insists Aguero will stay as City secure third spot

PEP GUARDIOLA witnessed Sergio Aguero ruin Walter Mazzarri’s day and then got rather tetchy himself when asked about his striker’s future.

Finally, after a little prodding, he said he wanted Aguero at the club next season and that he would be.

Quite why it has taken him so long to reach such a conclusion is anyone’s guess. It is one of football’s little mysteries.

But then Guardiola has always been a bit different, a bit smarter, a bit more tuned in to what is merely extremely good and what is great. Until yesterday perhaps, his instinct seemed to be to let one of the world’s most effective strikers go. Those close to Aguero thought that was the case.

And now this, with Guardiola blurting out to a question about Aguero and Vincent Kompany: ‘They are Manchester City players and will be here next season.’

With that, Guardiola was finally on the same page as the rest of the world, seeing the same things others see, which in the case of Aguero is a 28-year-old who has just delivered the most prolific season of his career, with 33 goals.

Two of those came at Watford yesterday and there was also an excellent assist, making him the standout performer in a game that ensured City finished third.

He was a wrecking ball crashing against the flimsiest of opposition. But isn’t that just City’s way this season? They have struggled in the big games, but put on a flat track they have bullied the life out of little people.

More is expected. They need to bridge what Guardiola referred to yesterday as the ‘gap’ to Chelsea.

It was galling to him that they were stuck in a last-day battle to determine if they could be the second best of the losers. That is not Guardiola territory.

They want to be No 1, not just in England, but Europe. Guardiola was realistic in how far short they are of that latter, pointing out: ‘Real Madrid bought a 16-year-old (Vinicius Junior) for €46million, so you can imagine the market. When Real and Barca want a player, others can’t compete. We need time.’

But the question is how long it will take to close on Chelsea and Tottenham. That will require a far better defence, goalkeeper and record against the leading lights.

For Watford, the challenges are no less important, just far less exciting. It is time for yet another new manager. The players never took to Mazzarri and this was the goodbye they gave him — a fifth straight league loss, their worst sequence in 44 years.

Mazzarri said: ‘I have reached the objective and that is all that counts.’

City opened with a Kompany header before an Aguero double made it 3-0. Fernandinho and Aguero’s assist for Jesus sealed a woeful day for Watford.