Striker’s blockbuster title-winning goal for Manchester City stands out but 18 years among the elite tells the fuller storyFor Sergio Leonel Agüero del Castillo an enforced retirement because of a heart condition provoked tears on Wednesday, but friends of the 33-year-old say he has also come to feel serene that a stellar 18-year career is over.The former Barcelona forward is understood over recent days to have been zen-like in his take on his playing days ending, telling associates that “things happen in life and it is time to live”. Away from the strictures of the athlete’s diet Agüero can embrace his love of asado, the Argentine barbecue that grills choice cuts of steak, chorizo, chicken and other meat, and attend...
The Manchester City striker’s gamble backfired against Chelsea, so why do players take a risk with a high-tariff move?It took two years for Antonín Panenka to perfect the flop-wedge penalty that bears his name. First he practised it against the Bohemians goalkeeper Zdenek Hruska in training shootouts, on which they would stake beer and chocolate, then in friendlies and league matches. And then, with Czechoslovakia 4-3 up on penalties in the 1976 European Championship final, he saw the West Germany keeper Sepp Maier move early – and scooped the ball impudently over him, not only securing the trophy but instantly trademarking a new move.The secret, Panenka explained to Ben Lyttleton in his book, Twelve Yards, was to use a long...
Manchester City will still win the title but this was a win of genuine significance for Chelsea’s German coachOh, Sergio. A reminder from Mr Guardiola to all boys – particularly those who are leaving the Etihad Campus at the end of the year. Term is not over. The final exam is not yet passed. And this really isn’t the moment to start having fun.This was an odd, increasingly gripping game. A 2-1 Chelsea win only delayed the inevitable title celebrations for Manchester City. But it carried a genuine significance for Thomas Tuchel, firming up the likelihood of a top four finish and ensuring his future employment to – shall we say? – at least November. Related: Chelsea’s Ziyech and Alonso...
Manchester City’s manager has stimulated a team that looked broken – and did so again against Crystal PalaceSeveral stories unfolded at once at Selhurst Park, even when it looked like nothing was afoot. Manchester City started sluggishly and did not manage a shot on target in the first half yet they emerged as comprehensive winners, a fact that sums up this season’s title race.That they could dispose of mid-table opponents with something close to a shadow side, assembled at an average cost of more than £42m per player, says plenty about the depth of City’s squad and pockets. Their third title in four seasons will be confirmed if Liverpool help them by beating Manchester United on Sunday, and that, too,...
A genuine aristocrat of European football, the striker’s final run at the club he has flourished at may well come from the fringesThe agony of choice. Manchester City started this game with a frontline of Riyadh Mahrez, Sergio Agüero and Gabriel Jesus: a move from zero No 9s to two of them, although Jesus moves in more mysterious ways than the average centre-forward.Midway though the second half this had switched to a fluid front four of – oh, let’s see – Jesus, Kevin De Bruyne, Raheem Sterling and Ferran Torres. By the end Phil Foden was hurtling though the centre forward position, legs whirring, the world’s most prodigiously gifted attacking afterthought. Related: Benjamin Mendy and Gabriel Jesus fire Manchester City...