Forwards are meant to be aggressive, always on the hunt for a goal, but also composed when the opportunity arrives. They understandably feel a sense of responsibility to strike for their team but when they are unable to do so, they often get frustrated lose their temper.
Manchester City forward Sergio Aguero is no different. He has been his team’s go-to man for all seasons. While his goals have come every now and then, rescuing his team in tough games, there have been occasions when he’s been frustrated, leading to him seeing red.
Here are five occasions when Aguero lost his cool.
1) David Luiz – Manchester City vs Chelsea, 2016-17
Sergio Aguero was guilty of missing chances in a frustrating 3-1 defeat to Antonio Conte’s Chelsea and with the game all but over he lost his rag to start a stoppage time brawl between the two title contenders.
The striker had lost control of possession and lunged nastily, high and out-of-control, at defender David Luiz. The pair had been in a battle all afternoon, one that clearly got to the Argentine.
It was inexcusable and Aguero was rightly sent-off for it but the hot-headedness didn’t stop there for City. Fernandinho was sent angrily out of control when Cesc Fabregas slapped him on the cheek, which saw City end the game with nine men.
Aguero will miss fixtures to Leicester, Watford, Arsenal and Hull before returning for a grudge match between City and Liverpool on New Year’s Day.
2) David Luiz Part II – Manchester City vs Chelsea, 2012-13
It was in 2013 when the Aguero-Luiz rivalry began. City beat Chelsea 2-1 with Aguero scoring a winner to send Roberto Mancini’s side through in the FA Cup but after the match, they weren’t talking about his goal.
In a chaotic phase, Aguero appeared to deliberately trample his studs onto the Brazilian defender after bringing him down. It caused instant retribution from a couple of the Chelsea players but Chris Foy, the referee that day, didn’t see it and Aguero escaped unpunished.
3) Winston Reid – Manchester City vs West Ham, 2016-17
Aguero’s new four-match suspension comes after he already received a ban this season. Just a few weeks ago he returned from a three-match suspension given to him after an off-the-ball elbow thrown at West Ham’s Winston Reid.
Referee Andre Marriner didn’t show City’s marksman the red at the time but a post-match review of the incident saw him rightly banned by the FA.
In his absence, Kelechi Iheanacho stepped up to the plate to lead City to impressive victories against Manchester United, Bournemouth and Swansea. Can the Nigerian replicate his form and prove he is a worthy replacement once more?
4) Mark Noble – Manchester City vs West Ham, 2014-15
Aguero has a history with West Ham, too. During a 2-1 defeat to the Hammers, he left opposition captain Mark Noble in some pain when he landed on the ankles of the Englishman. Aguero avoided any retrospective punishment by the FA for an apparent stamp because the incident was seen by the referee, Martin Atkinson.
Incidentally, Aguero would have missed a Manchester derby the following weekend. Fortunately for City though, he was there to get the winning goal in a tight affair against Louis van Gaal’s United.
5) Matt Taylor – Atletico Madrid vs Bolton Wanderers, 2007-08
It was in his Atletico Madrid days when a petulant teenage Aguero was first sent off. He saw red in a UEFA Cup last-16 tie between Atleti and Bolton Wanderers for spitting just 12 minutes after coming on as a substitute during February of 2008.
Aguero came on for ex-Arsenal man Jose Antonio Reyes but reacted badly to a crunching Matt Taylor challenge, one of many in an ill-tempered clash. Ironically, the winning goal for Bolton that day came from serial spitter El-Hadji Diouf.
A 19-year-old Aguero protested his innocence with the backing of his manager at the time, Javier Aguirre, but subsequently received a two-game ban. His suspension kept him out of the return leg at the Vicente Calderon Stadium, where Bolton secured a 0-0 draw to progress to the quarter-finals.
Aguero saw red for spitting just 12 minutes after coming on as a substitute.
