Former Manchester City star Micah Richards believes Sergio Aguero will miss out on the Premier League Golden Boot this term due to the rotation made by Citizens boss Pep Guardiola. The Argentina international is currently the league’s top scorers with eight goals this term but there have already been a couple of instances where he has started off the bench.
Sacchi says Inter Milan should not be discouraged after Barcelona defeat
Legendary Italian manager Arrigo Sacchi has said that Inter Milan should not be discouraged after their Champions League defeat at the hands of Barcelona. The Nerazzurri surprised the Camp Nou faithful after they took a second minute lead through Lautaro Martinez and they managed to hold onto the advantage until the break.
In the second period, the Blaugrana showed the better intention going forward and they managed to equalise through Luis Suarez before the hour mark. With six minutes remaining, Lionel Messi teed off Suarez for the winning goal after showing a superb bit of skill to get the better of four Nerazzurri players. Speaking on Gazzetta dello Sport, Sacchi said that the Nerazzurri can carry positives from the performance at the Camp Nou where they nearly came up with a point, he told:
“The Nerazzurri played with clear ideas and courage in the first half against Barcelona. Inter, with many inexperienced players, played a good game and showed a lot of personality, both of which bode well for the future. In the second half, the Blaugrana grew into the game and forced Conte’s side deeper and thus they were more likely to concede and had limited scope for counter attacks. The defeat must not discourage the Nerazzurri.”
The defeat to the Blaugrana was the first for Antonio Conte’s side from the beginning of the season and the manager will be hoping for a reaction from the players when they tackle Juventus at home this weekend. The San Siro outfit are currently top of the league table with 18 points on the board and they hold a two-point advantage over the reigning champions.
Juventus have dominated the proceedings in the Serie A with eight titles in a row but the Nerazzurri could make a serious claim for the title, should they secure maximum points during the weekend’s league meeting.
Former Manchester City star Micah Richards believes Sergio Aguero will miss out on the Premier League Golden Boot this term due to the rotation made by Citizens boss Pep Guardiola. The Argentina international is currently the league’s top scorers with eight goals this term but there have already been a couple of instances where he has started off the bench.
Speaking on Sky Sports, Richards said that Mohamed Salah has a good chance of winning the individual accolade, given he is greedy in front of goal and starts regularly for Liverpool. He added that Aguero is probably the best striker in the Premier League but he may lose out on the award due to Guardiola’s tendency to rotate him with Gabriel Jesus on some occasions.
He told: “Mohamed Salah will win the Golden Boot this season. He’s greedy around the box and he’ll benefit from playing every game because won’t rotate him unless they absolutely have to. Salah will be pushed by the likes of Mane, Kane and Aguero but he’ll pip them to the prize. In terms of natural goalscorers, Aguero is the best but Pep tries to rotate his forwards so he won’t get as many games as Salah.”
While the likes of Salah and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang have been regularly completing the 90 minutes this season, the same has not been the case with Aguero, who has managed an average of just 67 minutes on the playing field this term. As such, he does have the luxury of completing a full game unlike his Premier League counterparts and that could hamper his prospects of topping the goalscoring charts come the end of the season.
City are currently playing catch up to Liverpool at the top of the table and they are presently five points behind the Merseyside giants. Still, they are regarded by many as the favourites to win the Premier League crown, considering they have the experience of getting over the line unlike the Reds, who have not won the top-flight title for more than three decades.