Sergio Aguero has released his autobiography and it opens with a fond memory of City’s May 2012 victory against Saturday’s opponents QPR and the goal that finally brought Manchester City their first league title in 44 years.
The Argentine striker admitted he watched the goal over and over again on his lap top before he went to bed that night and has watched it hundreds of times since. The photograph of him wheeling away with his shirt over his head has a place in his home and he has made a showcase for the pair of boots he was wearing when he scored the late winner.
“That day will remain etched on my memory for ever,” Agüero says. “I have won other things in my career but I have never won a title like that. We had five minutes to go and we scored two goals to win us the league. I talk about it in the book in great detail because it is something I never want to forget. For that reason whenever anyone mentions Queens Park Rangers that crazy day comes to mind.”
QPR who are waiting in the wings on Saturday are dangerous opponents fighting for survival, a tricky game at Loftus Road is just the kind of fixture Manuel Pellegrini’s side could do without after their disastrous hone defeat to CSKA Moscow in the Champion’s League on Wednesday.
“We need to be at it from the word go,” Agüero says. “All Premier League teams make it tough for you, especially on their own grounds. QPR will be aware of our midweek disappointment and will try to capitalise on it, so we must go out with a different chip in our heads, as they say in Spain. We must find the form we usually show at home, go out with a different mentality. It is vital we get a win because we cannot let Chelsea open too much of a gap.”
Chelsea are already six points ahead of the reigning champions after ten games but there is still a long way to go in the league and City have the right players with the right level of experience to bounce back into the contest.
City’s Champion’s League hopes, on the other hand, seems to be in jeopardy, their midweek loss to CSKA has left them with the most disgraceful of exits. Aguero believes that progress is still a possibility; though he does accept that a big improvement is going to be necessary for a team that has neither won nor kept a clean sheet in any of their four Champions League games this season.
“We could still be able to put things right but clearly the group table is not where we want to be and not what we would have expected,” he admits. “It wasn’t just Wednesday’s performance, it was the previous three matches as well, especially when we were cruising at 2-0 up in Moscow before relaxing too much in the second half. None of the European performances so far have been the real City, none of them have been good enough. I do not want to give up hope when we still have a slim chance, but if we don’t turn it around in these last two games you could consider this to be the worst Champions League campaign the club has had. What we have to try and ensure is that the real City turn up for the games against Bayern Munich and Roma.”