Sergio Agüero – Manchester City’s Under-Appreciated Record-Breaker

“The ball fell at my feet and I just thought: ‘Hit the target, hit it as hard as you can and hit the target.’ And it went in.'”

This is how Sergio Agüero – Manchester City’s newly-crowned all-time record top goalscorer – described his match-winner against QPR in 2012. A 94th minute goal that changed the history of the club. A goal that brought City their first league title in 44 years, when it looked like bitter rivals Manchester United were about to spoil their big day. A goal that for many, will be remembered as the most significant in the history of the Premier League.

So Often The Difference-Maker

Under the immense pressure of situations like these, Agüero thrives where many strikers would fail. Like a shark smelling a single drop of blood in a vast ocean, the Argentine’s instinct and natural goalscoring ability allows him to smell a chance from a mile off. 162 of his 178 goals for the Citizens have been scored from inside the penalty box; a statistic which tells you all you need to know about his supreme movement, anticipation and intelligence.

It’s also telling that the minute in which Agüero has scored most frequently for City is the 90th – and that an astonishing 46 of his strikes have ended up being match-winners. ‘Kun’ is a player who keeps running through brick walls for the team and who never gives up when the chips are down.

A friendly reminder that #MCFC record-breaker Sergio Aguero has NEVER made the PFA Team of the Year. pic.twitter.com/b1PcMbMdoq

— B/R Football (@brfootball) November 2, 2017

South American Street Fighter

The run-down streets of Buenos Aires gave Agüero the best kind of education needed for the rigours of top flight football. Playing against older, tougher opponents taught him how to be resilient and use his low centre of gravity to his advantage. This upbringing culminated in the incredible achievement of becoming the youngest-ever player to appear in the Argentinian top flight – at the age of just 15 years and 35 days. There are many ways to describe such a fine striker, but perhaps ‘South American street fighter’ would be one of the more appropriate nicknames.

When you consider Agüero’s strike rate in the Premier League – he’s averaged a top flight goal every 108 minutes since arriving in Manchester – it’s astonishing to think that he has