Monitoring Desk
Manchester City’s heady mix of fantasy football and flawed defending was on display for all to see in the thrilling Champions League victory over Monaco at Etihad Stadium.
Pep Guardiola’s side were irresistible going forward and an open door at the back as they secured a 5-3 first-leg win in the last 16, the highest-scoring game at this stage of the tournament’s 25-year history.
City’s performance still leaves them with questions to answer when they confront this gifted Monaco side in the second leg on 15 March – but one fact remains without dispute in this Guardiola era…
Leroy Sane was the stand-out performer in one of the finest matches seen at Etihad Stadium – but the cutting edge was provided by 28-year-old Argentine Sergio Aguero, whose future has come under scrutiny in recent weeks.
The spectacular and instant impact of Brazilian teenager Gabriel Jesus saw Aguero left on the bench for the Premier League victories against West Ham, Swansea City and Bournemouth.
It is on nights like this, however, where Aguero demonstrated that the idea City would somehow be better off without him is a nonsense.
Jesus, at just 19, and 21-year-old Sane, represent a golden future for Manchester City along with Raheem Sterling at 22, but Aguero looks like a player in his prime and fit to play his part – not just now but in the years ahead.
Aguero has no point to prove, his record speaks eloquently enough, but he has accumulated a reputation and body of work that makes the finest defenders fear his threat. And at the elite level of the Champions League, that is a priceless commodity.
It was a match that was arguably the most enthralling seen here since Aguero’s 94th-minute winner in May 2012 which secured City their first title in 44 years. And the striker showed he still retains all the old powers.
Aguero and his City colleagues had to contend with a blaze of attacking intent from Monaco, but in between the youthful zest of Sane and Sterling, he was the spearhead and the creator.
He was rewarded for trying his luck with his first goal that prompted a dreadful error from Monaco keeper Danijel Subasic. He scored his second with a crisp, instinctive right-foot volley and then set up the fifth for Sane, the goal that gave City a cushion. It was the complete, consummate attacking performance.
Aguero also has a psychological impact on opponents and it gives Guardiola and City a powerful weapon. His first goal was City’s 200th in the Champions League and he has now scored five in his past three games at Etihad Stadium in this competition.
Yes, his recent goalscoring form has not been of his usual standard but he is the epitome of the phrase “class is permanent”.
