Manchester City manager, Manuel Pellegrini, has paid tribute to star striker Sergio Aguero, following his five-goal glut in a 6-1 win against Newcastle United.
Aguero, 27, became just the fifth player in Premier League history to score five goals in a match, accomplishing the feat in record time as he netted all five within the space of 20 minutes.
Having gone a goal down to an Aleksandar Mitrovic header in the 18th minute, the home side weathered an early onslaught to turn the match on its head, wowing the Etihad crowd as they thrashed Steve McClaren’s struggling Newcastle side.
Pellegrini, was quick to praise Aguero – who had previously been enduring a somewhat barren spell of five Premier League matches without scoring – describing the Argentine as ‘a different player’.
“I’m happy for Kun, he deserves it,” he said.
“He makes the difference. In the last game he missed chances but he was calm and that was key.
“To see him play at the level he played at today, not only he must be happy but all the fans.”
Having lost their perch at the top of the table to rivals, Manchester United, City were keen to once again establish themselves as the outright force in the league this season, and duly delivered to dispel some of the doubtful murmurs surrounding the club.
But there was no doubt to whom the credit was attributed, as Pellegrini lauded Aguero’s five-goal performance.
“It’s always amazing to see a player score five goals, the important thing is that Kun did it today in a difficult game when we were 1-0 down,” he said.
“He knows playing the way we play, and with his quality he will score.
“Our fans pay their ticket and they want to see the team play this way.”
Aguero, whose five strikes took his season tally to eight goals in 11 matches, appeared visibly frustrated at his substitution in the 66th minute, but Pellegrini waved away any suggestion that the £38million-man was upset.
“He had treatment at half time, and to give him more minutes he could have scored but we must be cautious about his fitness, because he could be injured,” he said.
“Maybe it was a very good treatment!”
Teammate Kevin De Bruyne was likewise eager to praise his new City colleague
“He is a remarkable player who can score goals from nothing,” he said.
“It’s a pleasure to play alongside him.
“Sergio scored with virtually every chance he had.”
De Bruyne, who netted his fourth goal in six games this season for the Sky Blues with a stunning lopping volley, said of his own performance: “I found it a bit difficult early on but then you come out again and just try to play better and things came off for me.”
Captain for the match, Joe Hart, was similarly pleased to see Aguero back amongst the goals, joking: “It’s about time he scored for us!
“He’d be the first to say that, too. But it was always going to end and when it did, the floodgates opened.”
City now have just under two weeks before their next fixture at home to Bournemouth as their plethora of stars head off to meet up with their respective international squads.
Image courtesy of Football TV, via Youtube, with thanks.
