Manchester, United Kingdom: Sergio Aguero fired a four-goal blast as Manchester City thrashed 10-man Tottenham Hotspur 4-1 in a remarkable Premier League clash featuring four penalties at Eastlands on Saturday.
Aguero was the headline act in a memorable encounter as Manuel Pellegrini’s second-placed team closed the gap on Chelsea to two points ahead of the leaders’ trip to Crystal Palace later on Saturday.
The Argentina forward opened the scoring in the 13th minute and then struck from the penalty spot seven minutes later after Christian Eriksen’s 15th-minute equaliser.
Aguero missed a chance to seal his hat-trick before half-time, when his second penalty was saved by Hugo Lloris.
Referee Jon Moss awarded the third penalty of the match in the 62nd minute when Martin Demichelis tripped Tottenham’s Roberto Soldado, with replays indicating the offence took place outside the penalty area.
However, Spanish striker Soldado fluffed the chance to equalise as his spot-kick was saved by Joe Hart.
Moss gave his fourth penalty in the 68th minute, when Federico Fazio pulled back Aguero, a foul that also earned the Argentine defender a red card on his Premier League debut.
Aguero, who is now City’s record scorer in the Premier League era, stroked home the penalty and sealed the one-man demolition job with another clinical strike to make it four in the 75th minute.
The English league record for penalties in a single game is five awarded by referee Kelvin Morton when Crystal Palace met Brighton in March 1989.
“I’m very happy,” Aguero said. “We are really happy. The [man of the match] trophy is for all the team because the team has helped me get the goals.”
Aguero looked to have sustained a back injury towards the end of the match, but insisted he would be OK to feature in City’s Champions League clash against CSKA Moscow in midweek.
“It’s fine, it’s fine. I’m ready for the next game,” he added.
After the 4-4 draw between Bradford City and Derby County in 2000, this was only the second time in Premier League history that four penalties have been awarded in one game.
The only downside for City was an injury that saw veteran midfielder Frank Lampard carried off in the first half with a thigh problem.
After the chaos that saw them concede just 13 seconds into a 6-0 defeat at Eastlands in November, Tottenham’s afternoon actually began reasonably well this time.
They had more energy in midfield and might have led when Nacer Chadli’s run down the left ended with him crossing for Ryan Mason to drag wide from the edge of the area.
Mason got an even better opening when he was picked out by Soldado’s pass, only to be denied to a block from Hart.
But City moved ahead after 13 minutes, when Erik Lamela lost possession and Lampard fed Aguero for the striker to work the ball into space away from Younes Kaboul and bend a shot into the bottom corner.
Tottenham responded two minutes later when Mason stole the ball from Fernando in midfield and Soldado slid a pass through for Eriksen to thump a shot in off the bar.
In the 20th minute, City were given a penalty when Lamela shoved Lampard in the area and Aguero converted from the spot to restore the lead.
The hosts were given a second penalty when Kaboul clipped Silva as the Spaniard burst on to James Milner’s pass, but this time Aguero’s effort was blocked by Lloris and he volleyed over from the rebound.
Just past the hour, Soldado controlled a bouncing ball and went over under a Demichelis trip that looked to be outside the area. Regardless of any controversy about the incident, the penalty was pushed away with a fine low stop by Hart.
Moss pointed to the spot for a fourth time when Aguero was shoved over by Fazio as he prepared to finish a Navas cross. Aguero did not pass up the responsibility and found the corner with his spot-kick.
He got a fourth when he tore through on to another long ball and had the room to curl a low shot into the net in the 75th minute.
