Manchester City vs. Newcastle: Winners and Losers from Premier League Game
Sergio Aguero scored five goals in 20 minutes as Manchester City came from behind to beat visiting Newcastle United 6-1 on Saturday in the Premier League.
Aleksandar Mitrovic headed Newcastle into a deserved 18th-minute lead, but Aguero nodded in the equalizer three minutes before halftime. The Argentine put City ahead with a deflected strike in the 49th minute and made it 3-1 just one minute later.
Kevin De Bruyne found the net with a stunning volley before Aguero added two more in the 60th and 62nd minutes to round out a brilliant performance.
Here, B/R selects winners and losers from the match.
Winner: Sergio Aguero
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Sergio Aguero hadn't scored in the Premier League since Aug. 16, when Manchester City beat defending champion Chelsea 3-0 at the Etihad. The Argentine had to wait a long time between league goals, but the drought ended in spectacular fashion on Saturday.
As Infostrada Sports noted, Aguero was just the fifth player to score five times in a Premier League match. Jermain Defoe, Alan Shearer, Andy Cole and Dimitar Berbatov were the first four. STATS Football revealed that the Argentine did so in the shortest amount of time—16 minutes faster than Defoe. And as BBC Sport (h/t @sportingintel) passed along, Aguero needed just nine touches to score his five goals.
Thus, Aguero was lethal, efficient and historic. This was a performance Manchester City supporters—and any Premier League fans, really—will remember forever. No player has ever scored six goals in a Premier League match, and you get the feeling that if Aguero had not left as an early substitute, he would have done so easily.
Awarding Aguero a perfect 10/10 rating, ESPN FC's David Mooney wrote:
"The striker had been down on his luck. However, a fine hat trick in a nine-minute spell changed all that. Two more goals to complete the quickest five-goal haul in Premier League history left the fans shaking their heads in disbelief. Aguero is back—and that's terrifying for the Premier League's defences.
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Even more terrifying: Aguero was apparently injured during his goal glut.
"He was not upset about going off," City manager Manuel Pellegrini said, per BBC Sport. "He was having treatment at half-time, and it was a risk for him to finish the whole game."
Winner: David Silva
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The headlines will focus on Sergio Aguero, and for good reason. But David Silva also excelled for Manchester City, creating chance after chance for the hosts, especially in the second half.
He didn't receive an assist on the play, but Silva served as the architect on City's opener, unlocking Newcastle's defense with a clever lofted pass to the back post. The Spaniard also set up Aguero's fourth with a fantastic pass that highlighted the telepathic understanding between the two players.
Winner: Kevin De Bruyne
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Pretty much everything written about Silva in the previous slide applies to Kevin De Bruyne as well.
The Belgian, who joined City in a mega-money move at the end of the transfer window, proved his worth with a sparkling attacking display. His goal, an audacious volley, was probably the best of the day, and he added two assists in a brilliant overall performance.
Worth the money.
Loser: Raheem Sterling
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Saturday marked the first occasion on which City's big four—Sergio Aguero, David Silva, Kevin De Bruyne and Raheem Sterling—started a Premier League match together.
Three of the four performed brilliantly. Sterling did not.
After an ineffective first half, the former Liverpool man was subbed out of the match at halftime. All of City's best attacking play came with him off the pitch.
He'll simply have to improve to keep his spot in City's loaded lineup.
Winner: Manchester City's Title Statement
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City needed a response. The Sky Blues had lost back-to-back league matches and lost their place atop the Premier League to rivals Manchester United.
Manuel Pellegrini's side provided the perfect response, making a strong statement of intent in the process.
True, Newcastle started the match as the better side and were unlucky not to lead by two or three goals by the time Sergio Aguero scored his first of the match in the 42nd minute.
But once City got going, there was no stopping them. With Aguero, Kevin De Bruyne and David Silva all in top form, the Sky Blues looked near-on unbeatable.
Concerns over the defense will remain, with City again conceding a goal without Vincent Kompany in the lineup. But all in all, this was a fantastic result—one that has the potential to define a season.
