MANCHESTER // Perhaps it was an act of clemency. There were 25 minutes remaining when the electronic scoreboard denoted a Manchester City change. On came No 14, Wilfried Bony. Off went No 10, Sergio Aguero. As the Argentine had scored five goals in the previous 25 minutes, perhaps it spared Newcastle United the ignominy of conceding 10 times to one player.
Even with Manuel Pellegrini affording Newcastle’s embarrassed defence some respite, it ranked among the division’s great scoring feats. Aguero became the fifth player ever to get five goals in a Premier League game after Andy Cole, Alan Shearer, Jermain Defoe and Dimitar Berbatov.
He may have been slower than Robert Lewandowski, whose recent quintet for Bayern Munich against Wolfsburg took a mere nine minutes, but Aguero’s came from just nine touches. A 20-minute extravaganza represented a case of a drought becoming a flood without warning.
Before he was irrepressible, irresistible and incisive, Aguero had been uncharacteristically impotent. The Argentine had gone 465 minutes of top-flight football without scoring; indeed he only had a solitary goal in open play all season.
His record was transformed, along with City’s fortunes. After 40 minutes, they seemed set for a third consecutive league defeat and their worst run in seven years. Soon after the hour, Aguero had scored five goals of his own and Kevin de Bruyne one that was arguably still better.
Newcastle, who had been eyeing a first league win of the campaign, were vanquished.
Aguero’s was a perfect hat-trick — a header, a left-footed shot and a right-footed effort — that became a famous five. The most clinical finisher in the division showed the range in his repertoire; his third goal, a lovely, delicate dink over Newcastle goalkeeper Tim Krul, illustrated the confidence and the precision of a player suddenly operating at the peak of his powers.
It conjured thoughts that his last-minute penalty against Borussia Monchengladbach will spur him into the kind of extended scoring sequence in which he has specialised. He has six goals in two games now, and at a similar stage two years ago embarked on a run of 25 goals in 23 matches.
Perhaps it was portentous that this was the first domestic game Aguero began ahead of the expensively assembled creative contingent of David Silva, Raheem Sterling and De Bruyne. If the intention is that they will prove the finest supply line in England, two of the inventors came to Aguero’s assistance. The other did not. A subdued Sterling was substituted at half-time while Silva and De Bruyne recorded two assists apiece.
The Belgian’s inch-perfect cross for the striker’s fifth goal was probably the pick of the passes. De Bruyne was extraordinarily productive for Wolfsburg and it is a habit he has brought to City; his fourth goal for them, a lovely controlled volley, was a beauty.
Under other circumstances, De Bruyne might have made off with the individual accolades. As it was, a starring contribution was relegated to a subplot. That is what scorers can do; they deflect attention from deserving colleagues and defensive deficiencies alike.
If it ultimately mattered not, City were shambolic at the back for much of the first half. Aleksandar Mitrovic opened his Newcastle account to put them ahead. This seemed a historic occasion for a club that has never won a league game at the Etihad Stadium. So it was, but in a different respect. For the first time since the 19th century, they have failed to win any of their opening eight league games. Manager Steve McClaren’s last Premier League victory remains back in 2006. Newcastle are bottom, City top and Aguero peerless.
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
The Specs
Engine 3.8-litre, twin-turbo V8
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 582bhp (542bhp in GTS model)
Torque: 730Nm
Price: Dh649,000 (Dh549,000 for GTS)
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Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
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The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
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Fixtures
Sunday January 5 - Oman v UAE
Monday January 6 - UAE v Namibia
Wednesday January 8 - Oman v Namibia
Thursday January 9 - Oman v UAE
Saturday January 11 - UAE v Namibia
Sunday January 12 – Oman v Namibia
UAE squad
Ahmed Raza (captain), Rohan Mustafa, Mohammed Usman, CP Rizwan, Waheed Ahmed, Zawar Farid, Darius D’Silva, Karthik Meiyappan, Jonathan Figy, Vriitya Aravind, Zahoor Khan, Junaid Siddique, Basil Hameed, Chirag Suri
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If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
