One of the shining lights during Manchester City’s rise to prominence has been the stellar form of Argentine striker Sergio Aguero. While Argentina’s footballing pride is undoubtedly Barcelona legend Lionel Messi, Aguero’s poaching prowess inside the box makes him one of the best talents to come out of the country.
Aguero was driven into the limelight after scoring the goal which secured City’s first-ever Premier League title while ending their 44-year trophy drought. Since that season, Aguero has gone on to break City’s all-time goal-scoring record, which currently stands at 254 across all competitions.
When he scored a hattrick against Aston Villa in January this season, he also set another record for the most Premier League hattricks, breaking Alan Shearer’s record of 11. Aguero is also the highest non-English goal scorer in the history of the competition, with 180 goals in the division, ahead of legends like Thierry Henry and Robin Van Persie.
With the star striker celebrating his 32nd birthday today, let’s have a look at his top five hattricks in the Premier League:
Leicester City, 2017-18 season
During the 2017-18 and 18-19 Premier League seasons, Manchester City were rampant; they broke the record for the most goals scored in a season at 106. Aguero scored 21 goals in his 25 Premier League appearance, including three hattricks. The treble against Leicester was the third of the lot.
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Aguero was also the only player to score four goals in a single match that season, after converting two beautiful crosses from Kevin De Bruyne before beating keeper Kasper Schmeichel at his near post.
His hattrick goal was more Aguero-like, after blocking a poor pass by Schmeichel and chipping him to complete his treble. However, the pick of the bunch was his fourth goal, a thumping shot from 20 yards out which hit the inside of the crossbar before going in.
Watford, 2017-18 season
The first of Aguero’s three hattricks during this title-winning campaign came in a 6-0 drubbing of Watford at their home stadium of Vicarage Road.
The Argentine legend, who is also prolific at headers, opened the scoring for the Citizens with a well-taken header from a Kevin De Bruyne free-kick. He added a second goal to his as well as City’s tally for the day, with a gentle tap-in from a Gabriel Jesus pass
However, his third goal was the icing on the cake, much like many of his other goals for Manchester City. He capped off a brilliant performance with a solo effort, dribbling through the Watford defence to slot the ball past the Hornets’ keeper Heurelho Gomes.
Chelsea, 2018-19 season
Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City side has won two consecutive Premier League titles, in 2017-18 and 2018-19. They broke the record for most wins in one season, which now stands at an incredible 32 out of 36 games, equaling the record in both title-winning seasons.
One of these wins included another 6-0 win over West London side Chelsea. At the back of a hat-trick against Arsenal in the previous matchweek, Aguero added another 3 goals to the third bank.
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While the third goal was a calmly slotted penalty to send the Chelsea shot-stopper Kepa Arrizabalaga the wrong way, his second goal was the culmination of Ross Barkley’s poor header. The pick of the bunch was Aguero’s first goal, and City’s second on the night, after the striker struck the ball past the four defenders from 30 yards out.
Tottenham Hotspur, 2014-15 season
Already established as one of the most prolific goal scorers of the Premier League era, it is quite surprising that Aguero has only one Premier League Golden Boot award from when he scored 24 goals during the 2014-15 season.
Three of these goals came in a cracker of a game at the Etihad Stadium against Tottenham Hotspur. This game saw four penalties being awarded, three to City and one to Tottenham, although two were converted.
While two of the goals scored by Aguero were spot-kicks, the opening goal of the game was a beautiful finish with his preferred right foot. He missed a chance to score from a hattrick of penalties, missing his second penalty before half-volleying the rebound over the bar. However, he did get a fourth goal, a precise finish to round off a 4-1 victory.
Newcastle United, 2015-16 season
During the Premier League era, only five players have been able to score five goals in a single game. Sergio Aguero added his name to the list in a 6-1 crushing win over Newcastle United in 2015-16.
Quite remarkably, Aguero completed his perfect hat-trick in just eight minutes, breaking City’s record for the fastest-ever Premier League treble. Moreover, the talismanic striker completed his personal best within a span of 20 minutes.
After conceding early, Aguero equalised for City, scoring a point-blank header. He completed his hat-trick with a beautiful chip over keeper Tim Krul, while his fourth goal was a beautiful 20-yard strike which found the bottom left-hand corner. He finished the route with a tap-in after Kevin de Bruyne squared him the ball.
Feature image courtesy: AFP / Oli Scarff
