Brilliant Aguero is useless in training, says Hart
Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart has hailed the brilliance of Sergio Aguero, although he claims the striker is “useless” in training.
City’s leading scorer Aguero underlined his return to form this season with a superb four-goal demolition of Tottenham on Saturday.
Aguero, 26, scored all the goals as the champions won 4-1 at the Etihad Stadium, taking his overall tally for the campaign to 10.
It also made him City’s record goalscorer in the Premier League with 61 and took him to 85 strikes in 132 appearances for the club overall.
Aguero’s goals were an emphatic reminder of his talents now that the muscle injuries which hampered him during the latter half of last season and the World Cup appear behind him.
“He is one of those players – and I don’t think he will be unhappy with me saying it – that some days you look at him in training and he is useless,” Hart said. “That is just down to him, and you know that when it comes to games he is going to score, because he is that talented, that good a player.
“He is a big-match player and deserves to be at a big club like this, scoring goals for these fans, and I can’t be positive enough about him. He deserves all the plaudits he gets.
“Finishing-wise he is one of the best and his goals-to-games ratio in the Premier League is the best.”
Aguero’s statistics in that regard are certainly impressive. His 61 Premier League goals have come in 95 appearances and he averages a goal every 108.3 minutes, according to Opta.
That is the most clinical ratio in Premier League history, ahead of Thierry Henry (121.8) and Ruud van Nistelrooy (128.2) – although both of them played many more minutes.
“He still has a lot of work to do,” Hart said. “He is only young and hopefully, if we keep him fit, he will be pushing on.”
Remarkably, despite scoring four at the weekend, Aguero’s performance could still have yielded much more.
Two of his goals came from penalties but he had another spot-kick, along with numerous other chances, saved by Hugo Lloris.
As well as he played, Tottenham were still tough to kill off and Hart also needed to be at his best to secure the points.
The England keeper produced a series of fine saves, including a penalty stop from Roberto Soldado, in another defiant effort.
Coming after a great performance at Bayern Munich last month, Hart seems to have overcome the inconsistencies of last season.
Some of that could be down to increased competition for his place following the summer signing of Willy Caballero, but Hart attributes it to his own efforts.
“I am 27 now and need to push on,” he said. “These are my years, supposedly, and I have been very lucky to play at the level I have.
“I will never rest on my laurels. Willy is a great keeper and a fantastic addition to City, but whether we didn’t employ a keeper or employed another 19 top goalkeepers, it would make no difference to the way I want to develop as a top keeper.”
City resume their Champions League campaign away at CSKA Moscow this week. After collecting just one point from their opening two fixtures against Bayern and Roma, City can ill afford to drop points in the Russian capital.
The game at the Khimki Arena will be played behind closed doors after the Russian club were punished by European governing body UEFA over the racist behaviour of their fans. That is likely to mean an odd atmosphere but it is not something that unnerves Hart.
“It will take me back to my Shrewsbury reserves days, going to play Blackpool away at Bloomfield Road, when there were Coke cans clattering around the pitch,” Hart said. “It’s a bit different – there is a bit more on this one – but it’s a game of football at the end of the day, whether there are 100,000 there or just the benches, it’s no different to us.
“You can’t let it affect you as a player, we have a job to do out there. I have massive sympathy for our fans, because it wasn’t us that caused this, but that is the rules and unfortunately we have to abide by them.
“I don’t think too many of them will be bothered as long as we win.”
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