Sergio Aguero hit a hat-trick after failing to score from two early penalties as Manchester City thrashed Steaua Bucharest 5-0 in the first leg of their Champions League playoff on Tuesday, virtually assuring a sixth straight season in the group stage.
On a night when City’s movement and passing bewildered their Romanian opponents and showed that new coach Pep Guardiola’s methods are already taking effect, Aguero had one spot-kick saved and saw another clip the top of the bar either side of David Silva’s 13th-minute opening goal.
Aguero sidefooted home from the edge of the area in the 41st and Nolito scored his first City goal, before Aguero added two more in the final 12 minutes in the Romanian capital.
Photo: Reuters
“The result was amazing, but the way we played, I am really satisfied,” Guardiola said.
In other first-leg matches, Borussia Moenchengladbach beat Young Boys 3-1 away and Andrija Pavlovic’s first-half goal earned Copenhagen a 1-0 win over APOEL. Ajax and Rostov drew 1-1, and Dinamo Zagreb drew 1-1 with Salzburg.
The second legs are to be played next week and City’s return match against Steaua should be nothing more than a formality.
The Romanian team is far from the force who won the European Cup in 1986 and reached another final in 1989. Steaua could not get close to a City team who are embracing the tactics of Guardiola, including quicker circulation of the ball and the fullbacks tucking into central midfield at times.
In Aguero, Guardiola has one of the most lethal strikers around.
Aguero made a pinpoint finish from Raheem Sterling’s touch to make it 2-0. He exchanged passes with Nolito before drilling home his second goal in the 78th and then ran onto Fernandinho’s pass to curl a shot in off the post in the 89th.
“If you score three goals, no one will care about the two penalties,” City playmaker Kevin De Bruyne said. “We played a really good game. It was 5-0, could be eight, nine. It’s a really good advantage for next week.”
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