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Aguero shows class again but can they keep him fit?

Aguero shows class again but can they keep him fit? It is a sign of the high esteem in which Sergio Aguero is held that stadiums tend to fall silent whenever he gets the ball inside the penalty area.

That is exactly what happened on numerous occasions in the opening half of Manchester City’s come-from-behind 2-1 win over Watford at Vicarage Road on Saturday. The Argentine was quiet for the opening 45 minutes and struggled to make an impact on the game, but the reputation he has built up since moving to the Premier League from Atletico Madrid in 2011 induced a sense of nervousness among the home crowd whenever he picked up possession in the danger zone.

On the evidence of the last few weeks, the Watford supporters’ anxiety was a little overdone. By his high standards, Aguero has struggled for goals this season; while his record of eight in 13 top flight matches sounds respectable enough, it is worth remembering that five of those strikes came in a single game – the 6-1 thrashing of Newcastle United in October – meaning the Argentine had found the back of the net in only three Premier League fixtures prior to the clash with Quique Sanchez Flores’ high-flying Hornets.

There are, however, mitigating circumstances that explain his uncharacteristic struggles. Aguero has suffered with multiple niggling injuries ever since arriving at City almost four-and-a-half years ago, with the former Independiente man often requiring a few run-outs after returning to the team before he is back to his clinical best.

That has been the case this season, with Aguero missing seven weeks of domestic action between the start of October and the 4-1 defeat to Liverpool on November 21, before also being ruled out for three weeks last month. While he started in the 2-1 loss at Arsenal and 0-0 draw at Leicester City over the festive period, the 27-year-old was visibly off the pace and far from his best.

That looked like being the case against Watford too, with Aguero stifled for much of the encounter. On the rare occasions he did find space – Kevin De Bruyne played a wonderful headed through-ball to set him clear in the first half, for example – Aguero struggled to escape the close attention of his marker.

In the end, though, it took just one moment of brilliance for City’s No. 10 to make the difference. 150 seconds after Yaya Toure equalised with a thumping left-footed volley, Aguero rose highest to nod Bacary Sagna’s pinpoint cross into the bottom corner and give his side an absolutely vital three points in the championship race.

“I’m sure we’ll see in the second part of the season the performances of Aguero we’re used to,” City boss Manuel Pellegrini told the BBC in his post-match interview. “He needs two to three games to return to his normal performance. The goal that he scored tonight was important for him. Before that he made a lot of good movements – better than the last game.”

The Chilean and the club’s fans will be hoping that Aguero continues to improve over the coming weeks. City have underachieved in the first half of the campaign – they have seven fewer points now than they did after 20 games in 2014/15, despite spending £150 million on new arrivals in the summer – but the title is still very much there for the taking, with table-topping Arsenal just three points ahead of Pellegrini’s charges at present.

If City are to scoop the prize for the third time in five years, they need Aguero to be fit and firing until May.

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