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Manchester City recorded a 3-0 win over Southampton on Sunday. Sergio Aguero did not feature in the goal-scorers list, but he certainly did achieve a personal milestone during the game. It was the Argentian’s 100th appearance for the club and to mark the occasion with a win would’ve made it sweeter for him. The 26-year-old joined the club in 2011 from Atletico Madrid on a five-year contract for a reported sum of £38 million.
He probably scored the most important goal of his short career so far at the club, when he scored an injury-time winner against Queens Park Rangers on the last day of 2011/12 season which snatched the title away from neighbours and bitter rivals Manchester United, resulting in wild celebrations among the fans. Aguero has grown into a much better player since that famous day and has become a key part of Manchester City’s forward-line.
Aguero’s main strength is his ability to score goals of either foot and he has a tendency to score long-distance goals as well. Aguero has netted 64 goals in 100 matches so far, which puts him in third position behind Ruud Van Nistelrooy and Alan Shearer.
The interesting thing about this tally is that only seven of those goals have been penalties while Shearer and Van Nistelrooy, each scored 16 and 13 goals from the spot, respectively.
| Player Name | Goals |
|---|---|
| Alan Shearer | 79 |
| Ruud Van Nistelrooy | 68 |
| Sergio Aguero | 64 |
| Andrew Cole | 63 |
| Fernando Torres | 63 |
| Robbie Fowler | 62 |
| Luis Suarez | 62 |
| Thierry Henry | 59 |
| Ian Wright | 56 |
| Michael Owen | 54 |
| Les Ferdinand | 53 |
| Kevin Phillips | 53 |
| Teddy Sheringham | 52 |
| Jimmy Floyd Hasslebaink | 52 |
| Matthew Le Tissier | 51 |
Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini, however, feels that Aguero’s best is yet to come.
"We are always trying to demand to Sergio to fight always to be the best player in the world because he can do it. I am sure he is in the top five. I don't think he is better than Cristiano [Ronaldo] or [Lionel] Messi but he must be very near, ” the former Malaga manager said.
He also added that it would be hard to compare his career with the likes of Shearer and Van Nistelrooy and said that he still has a long way to go.
“It is difficult to compare careers of very important players. Alan Shearer and Ruud van Nistelrooy are players who have already finished their careers. Sergio is not starting but just 26 years old. He has many years more to play here.
I am always asking and demanding that he tries to be the best player because he has all the conditions to do that. That is why I am very glad for him he is always improving every day, ” he said.
He is growing, he will have more edge. He is very strong and has at least five more years where he is at his top performance," the Chilean added.
