MAN CITY 6 CHELSEA 0
Aguero hat-trick fires Man City top of Premier League as they inflict Chelsea’s biggest ever Premier League defeat
Pep Guardiola's men returned to the top of the table after powering past miserable Chelsea at the Etihad
IT was madness.
Manchester City, making fun of Chelsea by belting out their signature tune 'One Step Beyond' at the final whistle, were irresistible.
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Inside the house of fun, Pep's players declared at six with this powerful, strutting performance.
There will be one better day in City history, but it will be tough to reach these dizzying heights in the short-term.
Raheem Sterling’s classy, measured performance was rewarded with a goal in each half.
Sergio Aguero, bagging the 11th hat-trick of his City career, was at his ruthless, punishing best.
His private battle with Mo Salah for the golden boot – they are both on 17 – will determine the outcome of the title race.
Aguero, along with Sterling, is also a genuine player of the year contender now.
Then there is the level just below, with Ilkay Gundogan scoring City’s other goal in this ceaseless victory.
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Maurizio Sarri, bewildered and bemused on the touchline, will soon be looking for the 20th club of his nomadic coaching career.
It is a grey day for Sarri-ball.
Pep’s players toyed, teased and tormented a group of players who lifted the Premier League just 21 months ago.
Chelsea are yesterday’s men.
This was abject surrender, capitulating when the outstanding figure of Sterling put City in front four minutes in.
Chelsea’s players, beaten 4-0 at Bournemouth in their previous away game, ruin managerial reputations.
Sarri has been shredded.
Chelsea managers do not survive scorelines as damaging as this.
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Ole Gunnar Solskjaer watched this pathetic little mob down tools a day after Manchester United replaced these fallen giants in fourth.
There is nothing to fear while Sarri is driving this ghost train.
In days gone by, when the rivalry between these two clubs was fierce, this used to be one of the biggest games in English football.
Newport County, 13th in League Two, will give City a better game on their muddy pitch on Saturday evening.
This was a truly disgusting Chelsea performance.
City lapped it up, joyously singing “you need Mourinho” at their travelling fans when Gundogan netted the fourth.
Those poor Chelsea punters, spending fortunes to travel north, deserve better than Sarri.
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Chelsea were lacklustre, disinterested and disrespectful to the club colours.
They fell behind, inevitably, just four minutes in when Sterling clipped his effort beyond Kepa Arrizabalaga.
The City flyer was outstanding again, setting the tempo out on the left wing with his wizardry.
Sterling, like the rest of those light blue shirts flocking towards him after the opener, was a marvel to watch.
Kevin De Bruyne played a quick free-kick to Bernardo Silva down the right in the build up.
His cross deflected off the boot of David Luiz and Sterling arrived inside the area to lash in City’s first.
They waited ten minutes to score again, waiting patiently after Aguero missed the target from a yard.
By the end, they were lovestruck.
Sergio Aguero misses from a YARD out and Pep Guardiola goes mad on the touchline
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Aguero’s first was a peach, beating Kepa for power, pace and accuracy after 14 crazy minutes.
Sterling and De Bruyne were involved in the move, but Aguero takes maximum credit for spying the chance.
Jorginho and Antonio Rudiger could not close him down anywhere near quick enough to stop the City man scoring.
The gasps of admiration around the stadium when the replay was shown on the giant screens underlined its quality.
This was Aguero at his best.
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He scored again 19 minutes in, swivelling inside the area to beat Kepa with his left peg.
David Luiz had failed to get enough on Oleksandr Zinchenko’s cross from the to get it away.
With Ross Barkley inexplicably heading towards his own keeper, Aguero was alert and available.
He scored, breaking yet another record by moving on to 159 league goals in a City shirt.
There are many, many more to come.
City got one more in the first half, humiliating Chelsea’s defence when Gundogan got in on the act.
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Mike Dean rewards a penalty to Sergio Aguero... in the most flamboyant fashion
There was more good work from Sterling, finding Aguero’s liquid feet inside the area.
He was about to pull the trigger when Rudiger’s bungled interception made its way straight to Gundogan.
The City midfielder took his chance, drilling his classy, composed finish beyond Kepa.
City were out for more.
Sarri sent his players out early for the second half, booting them out of the dressing five minutes before the restart.
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He should have booted them all the way back to London.
Aguero gave them an early warning when he smacked his hat-trick chance against the bar.
Minutes later he claimed the match ball.
Cesar Azpilicueta chopped Sterling inside the area, giving Aguero a free hit from the penalty spot after 56 minutes.
He sent Kepa the wrong way. Easy.
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It is his second hat-trick in a week, following up his treble against Arsenal with another impressive haul here.
City made it six when Sterling bagged another, reading the combinations of Zinchenko and the backheel from Gabriel Jesus to score his second.
To think these two clubs get to do it all over again in two weeks when they meet at Wembley for the Carabao Cup final.
It could be an embarrassment.
Maurizio Sarri snubs Pep Guardiola handshake after thrashing by Man City
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