Sunderland vs. Manchester City: Winners and Losers from EPL Game
Manchester City rolled past Sunderland on their way to a 4-1 victory at the Stadium of Light on Wednesday.
Sergio Aguero was the best player on the field for the Citizens with two goals and an assist, while Stevan Jovetic and Pablo Zabaleta contributed a goal each.
Sunderland did score the first goal of the match by way of Connor Wickham, but an Aguero equalizer two minutes later thwarted any momentum they had.
Here's a look at the winners and losers from City's dominant road performance.
Winner: Sergio Aguero
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Sergio Aguero extended his terrific form into Wednesday, as he produced two goals and an assist in 73 minutes of play.
Two minutes after Sunderland opened the scoring at the Stadium of Light, Aguero struck for his 13th goal of the Premier League season. The Argentinian easily got around Sebastian Coates before he unleashed his shot past former teammate Costel Pantilimon.
Aguero then shifted into the role of provider in the 39th minute, when he delivered a perfect assist to Stevan Jovetic. Jovetic pounced on the pass at the left side of the box to hand City their first lead of the match.
He finished off his night by scoring his 14th goal in 14 league games in the 71st minute. Unfortunately for the star forward, his chance at scoring a hat-trick was denied by a 73rd-minute substitution.
In his last 33 league games for Manchester City, Aguero has found the back of the net on 30 occasions, per Squawka.
Loser: Jack Rodwell
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Before Aguero had a chance to make an impact on the match, Jack Rodwell had a golden chance to put Sunderland ahead in the sixth minute.
The former City player saw an excellent opportunity in the middle of the box to put Sunderland ahead, but he scuffed his shot in front of goal.
As the match progressed, Rodwell's impact on the match diminished more as City dominated the play in the middle of the pitch.
Rodwell had a rough night keeping the ball off the feet of Yaya Toure and Fernandinho, who both finished with a pass accuracy of over 90 percent.
Winners: Pablo Zabaleta and Samir Nasri
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The third goal scored by Manchester City was a masterpiece created by Pablo Zabaleta and Samir Nasri.
The duo played a terrific give-and-go on the right side of the penalty area to hand City a two-goal advantage at the Stadium of Light.
Zabaleta started the move by playing a short ball over to Nasri, who waited to return the ball to the defender after he made a surging run through the Sunderland defense.
Once he found his way through the defense, the full-back scored on a beautiful chip that made him look like a forward instead of a right-back.
Loser: Lee Cattermole
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Sunderland enforcer Lee Cattermole had a decent game in midfield for the hosts, but he made one brutal mistake in the second half. Cattermole earned a familiar spot in the referee's book for a challenge on Jesus Navas in the 71st minute.
The challenge on the City winger wasn't all that bad. But by conceding a free-kick, Cattermole allowed the City players time to make their way forward. Just moments after they took the free-kick, Aguero was celebrating his second goal of the match.
To add further misery to the midfielder's day, his seventh yellow card placed him atop the disciplinary list ahead of Calum Chambers, who has earned six cautions this season.
Louise Taylor of The Guardian noted, "With (Yaya) Toure taking increasing command of central midfield, where he made life awkward for Lee Cattermole, Pellegrini’s players thoroughly deserved their lead."
Loser: Sunderland's Momentum from the Draw with Chelsea
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Sunderland entered Wednesday's match in high spirits after holding Chelsea to a 0-0 draw at home Saturday.
The result extended the club's unbeaten run to four games, but the Black Cats could not keep the momentum going against the second-place team in the league.
The short week in between games and City's dominance in midfield can be blamed for Sunderland's lack of effort in front of a home crowd, who had no problem leaving early.
Things do not get any easier for Gus Poyet's side over the weekend, as it must make a trip to Anfield to play Liverpool.
Poyet was quoted by Louise Taylor of The Guardian as saying, "City were better than us in every aspect, and we paid the price."
Winners: City's Pace-Controlling Midfielders
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After Aguero's first goal, City assumed the dominant role in the possession battle thanks to Fernandinho and Yaya Toure.
The central midfield pairing combined for 269 touches and 260 passes in the 4-1 road victory, which saw City earn their first lead at the Stadium of Light since 2008.
The best example of City's exquisite precision and patience came on the second goal scored by Jovetic. After passing the ball around the pitch, Toure found Aguero with a long pass before the Argentinian perfectly set up Jovetic.
City may not play this perfect in midfield all season, but if they do, no one will be able to stop them.
Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.
All statistics obtained from WhoScored.com.
