Manchester City Fan View: Agüero and De Bruyne move Sky Blues closer to inevitable title

Manchester City saw off Leicester City with a resounding 5-1 win on Saturday in what was a blistering start to a crucial part of the season. The match represented the beginning of a new phase of this campaign. City’s success this season means they are still in the hunt for all four available trophies, and this fixture was the first of four consecutive matches across all the different competitions.

It was also the first of a run of four games across four different competitions which will see Pep Guardiola’s men try to push on towards an unprecedented quadruple. The three points ensured that, even without playing another game, City will be a minimum of 10 points clear at the top of the league by the end of the month.

Individual brilliance

City’s success this season is all about the collective. It’s the team that interlink so wonderfully on the pitch, each match an opportunity to weave intricate art on a fresh canvas. The team spirit keeps them together in the tough moments – and yes, there have been some of those. That spirit is evident when the players who barely feature celebrate on the bench as much as the goalscorer on the pitch. Pep Guardiola has instilled a most remarkable team mentality into these players.

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For all that, though, there is plenty of individual brilliance to marvel at. You’d think by this point in the season, it might have got a little boring talking about Kevin De Bruyne being good at this game. But as one could never tire of watching such a prodigious footballer, one must never grow weary of singing his praises.

The Belgian added another three assists to his tally for the season, the first two of which were spellbinding. Bending the ball and, with it, the match and the inevitable destiny of the Premier League to his will, he picked out unlikely inch-perfect passes for two teammates. Raheem Sterling and Sergio Agüero were the grateful beneficiaries of passes so good they meant they could hardly miss.

Which brings us nicely to Agüero himself. The Argentine scored his third hat-trick of the season on his way to a four-goal haul. His goals were a mix of predatory instinct, good movement, deft finishing and to top it off, a glorious long-range strike that teased Kasper Schmeichel into thinking he could save it before flying over him.

Kun is now on 21 Premier League goals for the season. That puts him level with Liverpool’s Mo Salah – who wins rave reviews every week – and just two goals shy of Harry Kane. In all competitions, he has 28 goals and is just four short of 200 in a City shirt.

All of this for a player who is constantly rumoured to be unhappy playing under Guardiola and can’t fit into his system. If this is player not fitting a system then I don’t know what to expect of a striker who does fit in.

It was crucial that City start this four game period in good condition. They looked refreshed for the three days of rest that Guardiola gave them. In the next three matches they will have the opportunity to take one big step towards reaching the Champions League last eight, the FA Cup quarter-final and to win the League Cup. When March rolls in, City will the resume their precession towards the Premier League title.