Sergio Aguero is the deadliest striker in the Premier League, and he can assert that dominance under Guardiola, bringing his game to even greater heights.
Manchester City’s Sergio Aguero has only played six of his side’s 10 games in all competitions. He’s scored 11 goals.
Five out of four in the Premier League, six out of two in the Champions League. The latter number could well have been eight rather than six, considering the striker contrived to miss two penalties in one game and still score a hat-trick.
That is a frankly ridiculous scoring ratio. But this is no rare purple patch for the striker. He is a proven goalscorer at this level, with 147 goals in 214 appearances for City.
But Aguero has often not been given the credit he deserves for his undoubted quality. He has never won the PFA Player of the year award, which is a difficult award to win, but more gallingly, he has never been named in the PFA Team of the Year.
However, his quality is undeniable. His touch to take him away from Jordi Amat and his skill to power his shot through the legs of goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski were fantastic. His chipped penalty for his second goal of the game against the Swans showed just how confident the Argentine is.
But Pep Guardiola insists he can improve the striker. That’s hard to believe, but if the Spaniard is right, then Aguero will become a real force of nature. The Ballon D’Or may even be possible. Aguero is one of a select few players who will quietly feel as though they can mount a challenge to the dominance of Messi and Ronaldo.
At 29 and 31 respectively, their glittering careers still have plenty left in them, but they are beginning to reach the age of slight physical decline. Soon, their powers will have faded perhaps just enough for those players whose talents rank as extraordinary but not superhuman to wrest the coveted award off the duo for the first time in nearly a decade.
And if Aguero’s remarkable tally of 11 goals in six games is to be bettered – by a mixture of individual improvement and fantastic service from the likes of David Silva and Kevin De Bruyne – then who’s to say where his ceiling lies?
Manchester City’s Sergio Aguero celebrates scoring
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