Man City Lose Sergio Aguero to Injury but Kickstart Title Race with Everton Win

MANCHESTER, England—The Premier League title race, which had been written off in some quarters as a walkover after Chelsea’s blistering start to the season, was blown wide open on Saturday after Manchester City beat Everton to capitalise on the west Londoners' defeat at Newcastle earlier in the day.

With Arsenal and Liverpool also dropping points, it was a poor day for City’s rivals. However, an injury to Sergio Aguero, who left the field visibly in distress, soured the mood at the Etihad.

Aguero sustained knee ligament damage which is yet to be assessed, but he will almost certainly miss the midweek trip to Rome in the Champions League, with a longer layoff highly likely.

He has been the club’s best player this season, scoring 19 goals in all competitions, and his absence, along with Yaya Toure, who is suspended, and the doubts hanging over David Silva, Stevan Jovetic and Vincent Kompany, means City are likely to play in Rome bereft of a raft of stars.

They proved in this game, though; they can win without some of their star men.

Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images

Their 1-0 win over Everton was scrappy—a clear drop in quality from their previous two matches, where they had destroyed Southampton and Sunderland and played with a pace and verve previously absent this season—but it demonstrated City’s battling qualities in the face of adversity.

It was a somewhat disjointed affair lacking in quality, but the win was by far the most important thing, with Chelsea’s lead now cut to three points after their invincibility dissipated at St James’ Park.

Toure scored the winner from the penalty spot after the excellent James Milner had been upended inside the box by Everton captain Phil Jagielka. The Ivorian dispatched it effortlessly to Tim Howard’s right and settled the tension which had built up after the blow of losing Aguero.

It was hardly a stonewall penalty, but Milner got there first and was caught clumsily by Jagielka, much to Roberto Martinez’s dismay.

In the absence of your best players, it’s important for others to stand up and take on extra responsibility. With Aguero off the field, Samir Nasri did just that, clearly aware his seniority was important in support of Jose Angel Pozo, the young City forward who had replaced the Argentine.

He displayed his very best qualities: technical skill and an ability to keep possession, a commendable work-rate and an ability to find space and pick passes. He was superb and will need to produce something similar in Rome.

Elsewhere, Milner’s drive was key, as was Toure, who continues to improve after a difficult start to the campaign. This was far from a vintage display, but City ground out three points right when they needed them and have now won their last five in all competitions.

Fernando, too, put in one of his best performances since the opening weeks of the season, making a series of timely interceptions and challenges. One moment of madness where he kicked Gareth Barry in the head was punished only by a yellow card—a lucky escape by all accounts—but his influence increased as the match wore on and he gave protection to City’s back four.

Joe Hart pulled off a superb one-handed save from Romelu Lukaku in the closing stages to preserve City’s lead and further underline his improvement in recent months, as City, a little unconvincingly, clung on for the win. Given the circumstances, though, it was a fine three points.

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MATCH SHOTS: A selection of #cityveverton action images. View them all here: http://t.co/FdpK1dgNnc #mcfc pic.twitter.com/vPZhNdK1HI

— Manchester City FC (@MCFC) December 6, 2014"

Afterwards, City manager Manuel Pellegrini told reporters it was unclear how long Aguero would be missing, saying: “It is impossible in this moment to know how long Sergio will be out. He has a problem with the ligament in his knee but tomorrow we will know better how serious it is.

"He will probably miss the game in Rome. We are not sure, but it is very difficult when you have a problem with your ligament to recover in three days.

"It is a big problem because Sergio was in a very good moment and he is a decisive player for our team.

“We must also add Edin Dzeko is just coming back from injury, David Silva is not ready and Stevan Jovetic also has a problem.

"To play such an important game without so many important players is a difficult challenge, but I never complain. We have a squad and we will try to win on Wednesday to continue in the Champions League.

"With Stevan, we'll see tomorrow. We hope it's just a small problem in his hamstring and we will see tomorrow what will happen with him."

Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images

The Chilean said he was delighted to have beaten Everton given the circumstances:

"I am so pleased to beat Everton—a very good team—without four or five very important players," he declared. "I always say this team is not just Sergio Aguero.

"We have also missed Jovetic and Silva, and Dzeko was only able to play 20-25 minutes. All of them are very important offensive players, so I think the way we won today is important for the trust in the way we defend.

"To win today was important for a lot of reasons. Chelsea lost their game, so it was important to try to recover points and be near the leaders. December is a very difficult month where we have to play seven Premier League games.

"It's not a month where you win the title but it's a key month to try and start the next year at least trying to be leading or near the top."

It was a game lacking in quality, but after Chelsea’s slip and with Aguero’s cruel injury, the result, really, was all that mattered.

They now travel to Rome with a depleted squad but with a chance of progressing to the Champions League last 16 for the second time in two seasons. It’s a game of seismic proportions.

Rob Pollard is Bleacher Report's lead Manchester City correspondent and will be following the club from a Manchester base throughout the 2014-15 season. All quotes are obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Follow him on Twitter: @RobPollard.