Sergio Aguero the hat-trick machine - Seven deadly stats as Man City crush Watford 6-0

Aditya Devavrat 21:53 16/09/2017
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    • Marco Silva’s Watford had been among the early-season surprises so far in the Premier League, and, astonishingly, they went into Saturday’s home game with Manchester City with the opportunity to go top of the league, at least temporarily.

    Instead, it was the visitors who climbed up to the Premier League’s summit after an awesome attacking display, with Pep Guardiola’s men putting Watford to the sword in a 6-0 win. Sergio Aguero got a hat-trick, with Gabriel Jesus, Nicolas Otamendi, and Raheem Sterling also getting on the scoresheet.

    Here are seven deadly stats from the game…

    AGUERO LOVES TO TRAVEL

    Aguero is undoubtedly going to go down as one of the Premier League’s best-ever strikers, and at the moment he’s on the verge of claiming a record.

    The Argentinian opened the scoring on Saturday to score in an eighth successive league start away from home, which is the second-longest streak in Premier League history.

    He’ll get the chance to equal the record, held by Robin van Persie, at the end of the month, when City play Chelsea, and while the Londoners have a mean defence, you wouldn’t bet against Aguero extending his streak.

    DE BRUYNE CONTINUES TO SHINE

    Fantasy Premier League players were no doubt left frustrated by Kevin de Bruyne in the opening few games of the season, when he played superbly but contributed in ways that wouldn’t show up on the basic stats sheet.

    It was only a matter of time, however. A hat-trick of assists last time out was followed by his cross for Aguero’s opener, and the Belgian is continuing to forge his reputation as one of the deadliest creators in the Premier League.

    JESUS’ EYE FOR GOAL

    Players are expected to struggle when they first join the Premier League, especially young players from places like South America where the football is much different. Gabriel Jesus must be wondering what the fuss is about.

    Aguero has made a name for himself as a deadly finisher, and Jesus is following in his strike partner’s footsteps. Since his arrival in January, he’s scored 11 times in the Premier League, and his conversion rate is remarkable, as well as his overall attacking play.

    AGUERO THE HAT-TRICK MACHINE

    If Aguero were playing for Barcelona or Real Madrid, would his scoring rate be similar to Cristiano Ronaldo’s or Lionel Messi’s? It’s a question worth asking given how often he finds the back of the net, and when it comes to hat-tricks there aren’t too many people above the Argentinian on the all-time Premier League list.

    The 29-year-old bagged another one on Saturday, his sixth league hat-trick in England, which is the same as Wayne Rooney, but in 278 fewer games. Having equalled Rooney, only three men are above Aguero on this particular leaderboard.

    KYLE WALKER, KING OF THE ASSIST? 

    When Manchester City made Kyle Walker the most expensive British defender in history, more than a few eyebrows were raised. And while there remain questions about how good he is defensively, there’s no doubt that the right-back is excellent going forward.

    For Guardiola, that’s always been the priority. His full-backs have always been auxiliary attacking players and Walker is no different, and he showed his worth again on Saturday.

    GUARDIOLA’S CITY REGIME HITS A NEW HIGH 

    This was supposed to be a test for City, with Watford’s start to the season and the way Marco Silva had gotten his team to become more organised defensively. Guardiola’s men passed with flying colours. 

    They may have gotten the rub of the green on two of the goals, with tight offside calls going their way, but this was nevertheless a sublime performance. City have now scored 15 goals in their last three games, with the 5-0 shellacking of Liverpool last week followed up by the 4-0 win over Feyenoord in the Champions League, and then this. 

    The 6-0 win over Watford was City’s biggest away win in the league since 1938, and it set a new mark for the Pep Guardiola era.

    CAN THEY PLAY AT WATFORD EVERY WEEK?

    It was a grim afternoon for Watford, and one they’ll want to forget immediately. They were always going to be up against it with this City side, and once they conceded the first goal there was only one outcome. 

    City love playing Watford, especially at Vicarage Road, where they’ve now scored 11 goals in their last two appearances. At this rate, they’ll probably be hoping to be drawn against Watford in the cup competitions!

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