Guardiola lauds ´essential´ Aguero after FA Cup double

Pep Guardiola hailed Sergio Aguero as “an essential player” after the striker scored twice to spark a Manchester City revival against Burnley on Saturday.

The hosts fell behind at the Etihad Stadium when Ashley Barnes blasted the Clarets into the lead, but Aguero netted a double inside 93 seconds to turn things around in the second half.

Leroy Sane and Bernardo Silva added further gloss to make it 4-1, but it was Aguero who stole the show to earn rich praise from his manager. 

“Both of Sergio Aguero’s goals were amazing, they were clever and quick and I am happy with both of his goals,” said Guardiola.

“It’s an honour for me to have Aguero under my command. The quality he has is amazing and we need him to score a lot of goals.

“Aguero is the kind of player that in a matter of seconds can score two goals. He is an essential player for us.”

58. INCREDIBLE!!!! IT’S 2-1!!!! TWO IN A MINUTE FOR AGUEROOOOOOOO!!!! pic.twitter.com/F2xnbQsjKZ

— Manchester City (@ManCity) January 6, 2018

Midfielder David Silva was applauded by the home fans in the 21st minute – he wears the number 21 – in support for the plight of his son, who was born prematurely and remains in medical care.

It was confirmed Silva, who announced the news on his Twitter account this week, would fly back to Spain to be with his family and Guardiola added: “David Silva is a legend for the club for what he has done.

“I am happy for him to have made his statement and it is not easy for him to travel to Spain and England back and forth.”