Sergio Aguero The Star As Man City Sweep Past Leicester City

Sergio Aguero The Star As Man City Sweep Past Leicester City
19:33, 10 Feb 2018

Manchester City scored three minutes into each half to extend their lead at the top of the Premier League to sixteen points. It was another masterful midfield display from Kevin De Bruyne who assisted three of the five goals, while Sergio Aguero gave a demonstration of sustained scoring power.

Pep Guardiola’s side didn’t give their opponents any chance of mounting an attack during what was a commanding second half display.

Jamie Vardy had cancelled out Raheem Sterling’s opener, scoring from his side’s only shot on target, but an Aguero goal at the start of the second half was enough to see the league leaders shift through the gears into cruise control. 

The forward’s four goals see him move to 14 in his last seven appearances at the Etihad, and it’s the first time he’s scored in seven consecutive home games during his seven seasons at the club.

Cheers echoed around the stadium as former Manchester City youth prospect Kelechi Iheanacho and current transfer target Riyad Mahrez entered the pitch, but Claude Puel’s switch from a back five to a back four at half time had already exposed their defence and given his team a mountain to climb.

Even with the five-man back line, not one of Leicester's three centre backs was able to adjust their body position enough to step back and intercept De Bruyne's cross as it flashed behind them with just a couple of minutes of the game gone. 

Sterling was alive to turn the ball in at the far post, but it was of those passes from De Bruyne where a mere addition to his assists tally is too little an acknowledgement of the contribution, and it wasn’t to be the last pass of this kind he would make in this game.

It looked as if the home side would add a second when the Belgian found Sterling on the break. The winger then had several options and chose Aguero, wisely? Apparently not as the Argentine uncharacteristically lost the ball in the area, allowing Leicester to launch a counter-attack of their own.

Manchester City recovered the ball, but Nicolas Otamendi passed into Vardy's vicinity, and the striker sprinted away from a couple of last-ditch lunges to finish past Ederson.

Moments earlier, the Brazilian goalkeeper had showed his footballing skills to come out of his area, intercept the ball ahead of Vardy, and play a cross-field ball to Kyle Walker to launch an attack, but when called upon to do some goalkeeping, he could do nothing to stop the Englishman's strike.

De Bruyne was heavily involved in the other first-half chances, seeing his own powerful shot saved by Kasper Schmeichel and also whipping in a free kick which just evaded Aguero. 

The best first-half chance to make it two came when the midfielder found Sterling with a precise through ball, but the No 7’s shot was blocked by Aleksandar Dragovic after he’d rounded Schmeichel. The Austrian defender, on loan from Bayer Leverkusen, was pleased with his contribution and the scores remained level.

But they weren’t level for long as De Bruyne worked his magic yet again, this time from the left wing. A one-two with Sterling gave him space to cross, but he still had to find a way through the Leicester defence who had now switched to a back four. The ball curled through the only available gap and Aguero was on hand to tap in as Sterling had done in the first half.

The next penetrating pass from the boot of De Bruyne came in the form of a low through-ball behind the defence into Aguero’s path. The striker had a bit more to do on this occasion, but was able to get enough power on the shot to beat Schmeichel even though the Dane was able to get a hand on it.

The Leicester goalkeeper will have been more disappointed with his next contribution, however. Trying to play the ball out from the back, he mis-kicked and presented the ball to Aguero who chipped over the stranded stopper to net a hat-trick. 

The goal may have upset De Bruyne who missed out on another assist. The midfield maestro saw out the game in a defensive midfield role after Guardiola introduced 17-year-old Phil Foden in place of Fernandinho.

Having just been announced as Man of the Match, Aguero finished the rout with a thunderous strike which dipped wickedly, entering the back of the net with a satisfying clip of the underside of the bar. 

Before this moment De Bruyne may have been a more apt choice as the game’s stand-out player, but the final strike from Ageuro’s right boot meant he deserved to go home with the award and the match ball, as the City of Manchester edge closer to a title which was won by the City of Leicester just two years ago.

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