Manchester City vs. Newcastle: Score and Reaction from 2015 Premier League

Sergio Aguero sparked his season into life on Saturday after bagging five goals as hosts Manchester City came back from a 1-0 deficit to annihilate Newcastle United 6-1 at the Etihad Stadium and reclaim the Premier League's top spot.

The Argentina international pulled his side level just before the break following Aleksandar Mitrovic's shock opener for the Magpies, but Steve McClaren's side were quickly dispatched by an upturn in the Citizens' form.

Aguero scored twice in a little over a minute to complete his hat-trick before the 50th minute had passed, going on to net two more and cap off his five-goal haul in a total 20 minutes, with Kevin De Bruyne adding a sixth.

His performance harked back to the five goals Robert Lewandowski put past Wolfsburg in September, although Match of the Day was quick to note that Aguero's accomplishment was just off that standard via Twitter:

Manuel Pellegrini's side were left stunned early on after Mitrovic showed excellent reactions to head in a Georginio Wijnaldum cross that significantly raised any hope of the Magpies being able to clinch a result.

And for almost half an hour, McClaren's men would have thought they stood a chance, edging toward the halfway mark knowing that a one-goal advantage at the break would do them the world of good.

As the fates would have it, Newcastle were denied that feat, after Aguero cancelled out Mitrovic's nudge with a header of his own, which Squawka attested to ending his out-of-character goal drought:

That 42nd-minute leveller appeared to light a fire under Pellegrini's side, and their second-half increase in tempo coincided with Newcastle's defensive capitulation to enact a comeback that will go down in history.

David Silva and De Bruyne came to the creative fore and assisted their star striker in the 49th and 50th minutes, respectively. Both those strikes came from almost identical areas outside the box, the second of which saw Newcastle No. 1 Tim Krul chipped in cruel circumstances.

Jon Super/Associated Press

And just like that, the result was not only let slip from the Magpies' mitts, but the travelling outfit now had to ensure the fixture didn't turn into an embarrassment over the remaining 40 minutes. In that regard, they failed.

It was just three minutes before De Bruyne was on hand to score for the third Premier League outing in succession, with Kristof Terreur of Dutch newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws detailing his storming return to English football thus far:

It would prove to be just a short respite before Aguero reclaimed the scoring spotlight of his own, and he again picked his timing efficiently to net his fourth and fifth in the space of just over two minutes.

Again, McClaren's back line were caught napping as the in-form predator bagged his third of the day from outside the area before sliding in to convert another cross on the 62nd minute from none other than De Bruyne.

There was such bright hope for Newcastle following Mitrovic's initial strike, but Samuel Luckhurst of the Manchester Evening News showed just how badly the north-east outfit have coped at the Etihad of late:

It's no surprise that the scoring dried up after Aguero's early withdrawal, with Pellegrini no longer in need of risking his star after seeing the South American go from forgotten man to Golden Boot contender in less than 30 minutes.

Both teams saw out the remaining half-hour of the game with little to no interest in taking much by way of chances, capping off a fixture that showed nothing else if not just how dangerous Manchester City can be when disturbed.

Post-Match Reaction

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After enduring a frustratingly barren run so far this season, it was no surprise to see Aguero claim the post-match plaudits following a potent showcase of his scoring prowess on Saturday.

Brilliant though the attacker's performance was, fans were amazed to learn Aguero wasn't even fully fit for Saturday's match, according to Pellegrini, per the Chronicle's Lee Ryder:

Aguero's prime puppeteer De Bruyne was full of praise for the forward, telling BBC Sport the team are glad to have a player of such talent leading their line:

"Sergio Aguero can score goals out of nothing. It is great to have him in the team obviously. I am happy with the second half and how I played, not so much the first. It was a bit difficult but then I just tried to play better."