City put five goals past Cardiff

Sergio Aguero marked his 300th Manchester City appearance with his 205th goal for the club as the Premier League champions thumped Cardiff City 5-0.

Fresh from signing a one-year contract extension, Aguero tucked in City’s opener (32) after he was picked out by Bernardo Silva, who scored with a looping header three minutes later.

Ilkay Gundogan curled in an unstoppable effort (44) and was then lucky to escape injury before the break when Joe Ralls caught the German just below the knee with a challenge that saw the Cardiff midfielder receive a booking.

In the second half, Riyad Mahrez tapped in his first City goal (67) before scoring his second late on (89) as Pep Guardiola’s side responded to their midweek Champions League defeat to Lyon in perfect fashion.

Cardiff frustrated City in the opening half-hour, but the visitors broke the deadlock after 34 minutes with Aguero pouncing on Silva’s cut across the box to celebrate his landmark appearance in style.

Three minutes after the assist, Silva got his name on the scoresheet, with the Portuguese latching onto Leroy Sane’s cross and looping his backwards header – perhaps fortuitously – into the far corner.

Gundogan then made it three just before the break, playing a short one-two with Raheem Sterling on the edge of the area before curling an unstoppable effort into the postage stamp.Two Cardiff changes saw Lee Peltier and Greg Cunningham coming in for Sol Bamba and Joe Bennett.

Man City made three changes, with Sergio Aguero, Leroy Sane and Nicolas Otamendi replacing Gabriel Jesus, David Silva and John Stones.

A contentious moment followed before half-time, with Ralls late and catching Gundogan. Just a yellow card was shown, and it was an incident which harked back to the FA Cup meeting in January when Guardiola was left furious after Joe Bennett was cautioned for a high tackle on Sane.

City remained on top in the second half despite applying the brakes, with Sane going close when his header hit the outside of the post.

A fourth goal came midway through the half, with Mahrez scoring his first in a City shirt when tapping into the empty net from Gundogan’s low ball across the box.

Mahrez then scored his second at the death, gratefully receiving Bruno Ecuele Manga’s poor, misplaced pass before firing a low effort into the far corner.

England duo Kyle Walker and Fabian Delph were rarely tested defensively, while John Stones was a second-half substitute on a quiet afternoon for City’s back four.

Raheem Sterling was lively and carved out a few opportunities for City, while Phil Foden came off the bench and came agonisingly close to his first Premier League goal – but Neil Etheridge got down to make the save.

Cardiff lost a home league game by a five-goal margin for the first time since April 1994 (2-7 v Cambridge in the third tier).
Since Pep Guardiola took over ahead of the 2016/17 season, Manchester City have scored 5+ goals in 10 Premier League fixtures, four times more than any other side.
Manchester City striker Aguero has now scored 13 and assisted two more in his last 13 Premier League games against newly-promoted sides.
Bernardo Silva scored and assisted in the same game for the first time ever for Manchester City in his 61 appearances for the club in all competitions.

-Sky Sports