Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini believes Sergio Aguero must be a candidate for the Fifa Ballon d’Or world player of the year award if he can stay fit.
The Argentina striker, 26, scored all four goals, converting two of his three penalties, as Premier League champions City beat Tottenham 4-1 at Eastlands on Saturday to remain five points behind leaders Chelsea.
Aguero’s performance was truly fit for a king, with Juan Carlos, the former monarch of Spain, among the crowd after being invited by Chelsea chairman Khaldoon al Mubarak.
It also saw him become City’s all-time top-scorer in the Premier League with 61 goals in 95 appearances since his £38 million (Dh224.8m) move from Atletico Madrid in 2011.
The forward was hampered by a series of injuries last season that contributed to him only starting 20 of City’s 38 league games.
He still managed 17 league goals but is already almost halfway to that figure after taking his total for the current campaign to nine with his impressive performance against Spurs.
Pellegrini thinks that if Aguero can remain at peak condition he has a good chance of being named as the best footballer in the world.
“I’m not talking because he scored four goals (against Tottenham),” Pellegrini explained.
“I don’t expect him to score four in every game. I’ve known him for a lot of years, I know his career in Argentina, Spain and here in England and that’s why I said he’s one of the most important strikers in the world,” the Chilean added.
“When he is 100 per cent fit he will demonstrate everything. He is one of the top three or four strikers in the world.
“It wasn’t easy for him last year with so many injuries but now he is working very well.”
Look ahead to a Champions League clash with CSKA Moscow on Tuesday, Pellegrini said playing in an empty stadium won’t help his side when they travel to Russia for the potentially decisive match.
European football governing body Uefa have ordered CSKA to play the game behind closed doors because of racist behaviour by their fans – something City have direct experience of after Yaya Toure was on the receiving end of verbal abuse when the clubs met last season.
But Pellegrini does not believe this will give the reigning Premier League champions, still struggling to make their mark on Europe’s elite club competition, an advantage in the Russian capital.
“I think that affects football. I don’t think it is the best way to play, not only for our team but for the Russian team,” Pellegrini said.
“I think football is about the fans. It is the most important thing because they give an atmosphere at the stadium which is different to an empty stadium. It will be a different experience but that cannot affect our performance,” the Chilean added.
City badly need victories in both their matches with CSKA, having been beaten by Bayern Munich and drawn at home to Roma in their opening Group E fixtures.
“We have two games against CSKA Moscow in the Champions League that we need to win both of them,” said Pellegrini.
“The best way is to treat every game as a final, try to win it and then win the next final,” added Pellegrini.
Defender Eliaquim Mangala was expected to travel despite a thigh injury but midfielder Samir Nasri was due to stay behind while recovering from groin surgery.
CSKA enjoyed an emphatic victory last weekend, routing Kuban Krasnodar 6-0 to narrow the gap to Russian league leaders Zenit St Petersburg to just two points.
Forwards Ahmed Musa and Seydou Doumba scored two goals apiece, with midfielder Roman Eremenko also finding the back of the net.
“Of course we were not awarded any extra points for a 6-0 victory,” former Manchester United midfielder Zoran Tosic, who is currently playing with CSKA, said.
“But such a solid win raises the team’s self-confidence a great deal. Self-confidence is just what we need ahead of the match with Manchester City.”
CSKA are rock-bottom of the Champions League Group E table without points following two defeats in as many matches, one point behind third-placed City.
The 2005 Uefa Cup winners are still without Swedish midfielder Rasmus Elm and Brazilian forward Vitinho through injury, while Brazilian winger Mario Fernandes, who suffered an arm injury on Saturday is in doubt for the match with Man City.
Russian international Alan Dzagoev and Swede Pontus Wernbloom will also sit out the last of their respective three-match bans after being sent-off last season against Czech side Viktoria Plzen.
“Our attacking line of Musa-Doumbia proved their scoring abilities in the match with Kuban,” CSKA manager Leonid Slutsky said.
“And I’m happy I can count on them both in the match with Manchester, even though Doumbia hasn’t reached his top form yet.”
Uefa ordered CSKA to play their next three European matches behind closed doors following supporter incidents during the club’s match with Roma last month.
CSKA have appealed but the Uefa decision remains in force for Tuesday’s match at the Khimki Arena.
In the last season’s Champions League campaign Man City visited CSKA in October and came from behind to win 2-1 courtesy of an Aguero double. They also won the return fixture 5-2.
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