SHEFFIELD, England (Reuters) – Manchester City’s Sergio Aguero came off the bench to grab a 73rd-minute winner as they solidified their grip on second place in the Premier League with a hard-fought 1-0 victory at Sheffield United on Tuesday.
City’s Brazilian striker Gabriel Jesus had a first-half penalty saved by Dean Henderson and the keeper, on loan from Manchester United, also produced a fine save to keep out a Raheem Sterling effort.
Aguero was sent on to replace Jesus in the 67th minute and it did not take long for him to make an impact as his perfectly-timed run into the box was picked out immaculately by Kevin De Bruyne, leaving the Argentine with a simple tap-in.
It was the sixth goal in three games for City’s all-time top scorer and came moments after United had gone close to taking the lead with Oli McBurnie just unable to reach a low ball with his slide at the back post.
“Sergio is on fire right now. Strikers need momentum. It’s good for us to have strikers in this form,” said City manager Pep Guardiola.
“I am so happy with the team. I know what it’s like to play here, it is a tough, tough place. We controlled it well and in the end we created chances to win,” he said.
“It was an incredibly good victory for us to take a step towards securing Champions League football next season,” added the Spaniard, whose side are on 51 points, 13 behind leaders Liverpool, who have two games in hand.
