Jamie Vardy has broken records, Harry Kane has proven his doubters wrong and Romelu Lukaku has seen his value rocket, but Sergio Agüero remains the deadliest striker in the Barclays Premier League.
Agüero underlined his status as the most prolific marksman in the top flight on Saturday by scoring twice in Manchester City’s humbling of Aston Villa.
The first owed a lot to fortune. Micah Richards’s attempted clearance struck his right leg and flew into the net, but the second, a masterful chest-and-volley finish after a one-two with David Silva, was down to nothing but the Argentinian’s class. “He is the best player I have played with,” said Bacary Sagna, who has played alongside such esteemed strikers as Thierry Henry and Robin van Persie. “He is the best in the league and one of the best in the world.”
The statistics back up Sagna’s point. Vardy, Kane and Lukaku may have found the net more times than Agüero this season, but Manuel Pellegrini’s talisman has a better goals-to-game ratio than all three of his rivals for the golden boot.
Had Agüero not missed four league games with a hamstring injury, Pellegrini’s side could be much closer to leaders Leicester City, who are ten points ahead of them. “If Agüero could complete a season, playing in every game, 100 per cent fit then you would see what a difference that could make,” the City manager said.
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“Of course he can win the Golden Boot, but if he played the full season and played the way he did against Villa, he would certainly win it.”
Hit and miss
His first season in English football apart, Agüero has not had one campaign free of injury.
Two years ago, knee, calf and hamstring problems ruled him out for 16 matches. City went on to win the title that season thanks to the efforts of Yaya Touré, Edin Dzeko and Álvaro Negredo, who scored 45 goals between them.
This time around, Agüero’s supporting cast is not so strong. Touré and Raheem Sterling have scored six league goals apiece while City’s second-choice striker, Wilfried Bony, has found the net only four times.
Bony looks nothing like the player who topped the Premier League scoring charts in 2014. His lack of confidence was clear at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday. Gaël Clichy found Bony with a beautiful cutting pass 14 minutes in, but the striker’s finish was nothing but ugly. A simple tap-in was required, but instead he contrived to scuff his shot wide from ten yards with the goal gaping.
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When Pellegrini substituted Bony in the 62nd minute, the cheers were not for the Ivory Coast striker, but for the fact that he was being replaced by Sterling, who would score City’s fourth only 18 minutes after Touré had converted Jesús Navas’ cross for the first goal of the afternoon.
“We are professional players, and it won’t affect him,” Sagna said when asked about the fans who cheered when Bony’s number was held up by the fourth official. “They are going to be the same ones who cheer him when he scores.”
The only blemish on Agüero’s record was a second-half penalty miss. The 27-year-old, searching for perfection, aimed for the corner, but opened his instep too much and his shot hit the outside of the post.
Ratings
There was still no surprise when the striker was named man of the match for his exploits. City will encounter tougher tests before the end of the season. Villa “collapsed” in the second half because of a psychological fragility that is only likely to get worse, Rémi Garde said after losing his 11th game as manager.
City’s confidence, on the other hand, is growing. Unlike Leicester and Tottenham, they have experienced title run-ins before and that could prove vital. “Maybe if you are not used to being involved then the pressure is a little bit more,” Pellegrini said.