Aguero has taken his tally to six for the season already, and City are on equal points with their rivals for the Premier League, Manchester United, who beat Southampton 2-0 on Friday night.
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“Here we have time – but not too much”.
Sergio Aguero (Manchester City): The penalty wasn’t anything special, but the glancing header from De Bruyne’s cross was.
Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund is reportedly set to challenge English Premier League team Everton FC for goalkeeper Joe Hart who is said to be being offered by Manchester City for £20 million.
Stoke are a tough team to beat at home, but Guardiola will be keen to continue his good start to his management stint in England with another win.
After a week of debate following Hart’s surprise axing, Guardiola spent almost 15 minutes yesterday explaining the reasons behind his controversial decision. There was a decline in possession (it went from 66.3 per cent to 52.6 per cent) and also registered fewer passes (677 to 560), which means that this squad aims at playing more direct football that actually yields some positive results.
“I just need to keep working hard and express my feelings on the pitch”, said Iheanacho. I know his value. Later on Saturday, defending champions Leicester City host last season’s runners-up Arsenal.
However, he also indicated that all is not yet lost for Hart at City, and pointed to Eric Abidal’s revival at Barcelona, where Guardiola had a hugely successful spell as coach from 2008-12.
“The first thing I am looking for from the goalkeeper is to save shots – of course that is the most important thing”.
Victory at home to the Black Cats via a penalty and an own goal is not exactly the swashbuckling start to Guardiola’s reign that many would have expected, but it is still early days in the Spaniard’s revolution and the players are sure to improve as they increase their understanding of the manager’s philosophy.
But I suspect that Kenny and his players will want a draw which gives them a chance to reach knock-out stages rather than just gather up some cash. “If Joe stays here he will fight with the other keepers and will convince me to play”.
Stoke spoiled their good early work though by gifting City the lead with 27 minutes played.
“I have met a lot of players in the beginning who had problems, and I’m not only talking about goalkeepers”. However, it is bound to take him some time before he settles on his first choice 11. Henrikh Mkhitaryan came on as a second half sub and Pogba is likely to play in their next game against Southampton – two players who have the skill and and ability to majorly influence the game.
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And with seconds of injury time remaining, Sterling supplied Nolito with his second close-range finish of the afternoon.
