In our Transfers that shook the club feature, Football Transfer Tavern takes a look at deals that had many may not have seen coming and the impact that they had during their time by using statistical data and pundit remarks.
“Manchester United have done all they can; that Rooney goal was enough for the three points. Manchester City are still alive here…Balotelli…”
You know the game. You know the context. You know what comes next in Martin Tyler’s commentary.
“AguerOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!”
Eight years ago last Wednesday, a 23-year-old from Argentina ensured that, irrespective of whatever happened afterwards in his Manchester City career, his name would be etched into the club’s folklore. Once Sergio Aguero hammered the ball past Paddy Kenny to put City 3-2 up against QPR, having been 1-2 behind just two minutes earlier and needing victory to avoid being pipped to the Premier League title by Manchester United on the final day of the season, his place in legend was sealed. [via BBC]
It was a goal like no other. To score in the 94th minute to seal a remarkably quick turnaround, knowing that there wouldn’t be another chance to put it right, and to thwart their near and not-so-dear neighbours in a frenetic title race to seal City’s first league triumph in 44 years…goals don’t come much more special than that.
The circumstances may have been unlikely but the identity of Manchester City’s hero wasn’t. Aguero, who joined from Atletico Madrid for £35m the previous summer, had already scored 29 goals in his first season at the Etihad Stadium but it was his 30th which would go down in history. Even had it not been for his goal against QPR, he would surely still have been regarded as a tremendous signing by the club.
Nor was it exactly a case of Aguero having his one moment of glory before fading into obscurity. He has now spent nine seasons in England and hit double figures in the Premier League in every one of them. He has surpassed the 20-goal mark in the league in all five seasons prior to this one, with only four more needed to reach that threshold again if the current campaign resumes. His tally of 180 Premier League goals is the fourth highest in the division’s history.
The last time the Argentina ace didn’t reach 20 league goals, he still ended the season as a Premier League champion, hitting 17 in the division as City came out on top in 2013/14. They would relinquish their title the following year but there was still one night in 2014/15 when Aguero sparked scenes of mayhem at the Etihad Stadium. Trailing 1-2 to Bayern Munich after 85 minutes with the risk of Champions League group stage failure looming large, Aguero popped up twice in the final moments to complete a hat-trick and preserve City’s status in the competition (as per BBC).
The 2017/18 season was one of individual and collective highlights for the Argentine. His team regained the Premier League title with a record tally of 100 points while a string of personal accolades began with him usurping Dwight Yorke as the Premier League’s highest non-European scorer. In November 2017 he netted against Napoli to become Manchester City’s all-time record scorer. Two months later, a hat-trick against Newcastle saw him reach 350 goals in his career. He went one better at home to Leicester in February 2018, smashing four past the Foxes in a 5-1 rout.
Another Premier League title was secured the following season as more personal accolades came Aguero’s way. Two arrived at once in the 6-0 demolition of Chelsea in February 2019, when his 11th Premier League hat-trick equalled Alan Shearer’s record in the division and made him City’s all-time record league goalscorer. He reached 400 career goals in the win at Bournemouth last August.
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His manager Pep Guardiola had this to say about the 30-year-old striker: “He’s a legend, and it’s a part of history in the club. Aguero’s numbers speak for themselves – he is amazing” (as per BBC). Manchester Evening News journalist Mathew Nixon described him as “the greatest striker in Premier League history”.
Aguero’s record for Manchester City currently stands at 254 goals in 368 appearances (0.69 goals per game), with 13 trophies won in his nine years at the Etihad. It’s entirely theoretical, of course, but a few of those may not have come if he had fired the ball straight at Kenny or into the side netting at roughly 4:50pm on 13 May 2012.
“I swear you’ll never see anything like this ever again!” shrieked Tyler in the immediate aftermath of that moment. He was only partly right – the sight of Aguero finishing past a helpless goalkeeper is one to which Manchester City fans would gleefully become very accustomed.
Man City fans, how differently would the last 10 years have been if Aguero had never signed for the club? Comment below with your views!
