Fernadinho: We never doubted Aguero

Manchester City’s Fernandinho has backed teammate Sergio Aguero by saying ‘no one ever had doubts about Augero’s qualities.’

The Argentinean striker remained benched for three games in a row following Gabriel Jesus’ arrival to City in January but was picked by Guardiola in the thrilling Champions League encounter against Monaco after Jesus being ruled out with a long-term injury.

Aguero has so far scored 20 goals in all competitions, scoring two against Monaco and dispelling rumours that he might have fallen out with manager Pep Guardiola.

“Aguero is very important to us.” Fernandinho told the club website. “His history at the club speaks for itself. With the arrival of Gabriel Jesus and with him scoring goals and providing assists, Aguero ended up on the bench for a few games but no one ever had doubts about [his] qualities.

“[Against Monaco] he showed it – not only by scoring goals, but also the way he played. Recovering balls, running, pressing, helping the team. For a team that wants to reach the Champions League final, which is our aim, we need that spirit, no matter who is playing, we need to do that.

“This year we are showing that on our games and Aguero more than anyone else embraced the idea, so we are very happy about it.”

Aguero brags the best goal-scoring ratio in Manchester City’s history, and is third in the all-time statistics with 156 goals in all competitions, 10 less than second-place Tommy Johnson.