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#2 Aguero's Absence hurts City
Gabriel Jesus started in the center forward role as Sergio Aguero was absent due to injury. However, he was unable to fill in for the Argentinian as he had one of his worst games of the season.
Jesus had the second lowest touches in the game (24) of all the Manchester City players and was able to register only one shot in the entire game. His passing and link-up play was also non-existent as he completed only 18 passes with a pass completion rate of just 70%.
Earlier in the season, there was competition with respect to the starting role between the Brazilian and Aguero but with a performance like tonight, the ambiguity seems to have cleared as to who would perform better in a big game.
Man City certainly missed the presence of the Argentinian in the box as he has a good track record against Liverpool and is always a threat to the opposition defenders with the runs he makes into the box along with an excellent goal conversion rate.
Pep Guardiola will need his talisman back for the second leg if City happens to have any hopes of launching a comeback at home and turning around the deficit. Aguero is a difference maker and if possible, having him back in time will mean that the Liverpool defenders will have to be on their toes with him in the side.
