Sergio Aguero has been Manchester City’s best striker this year but he seems to play his best football at home.
The Argentine averages more than a goal a game when playing at the Etihad Stadium but on the road he has scored less than one goal every three games.
That is indicative of City’s season. Away from home they have picked up only 11 points from a possible 30 in their last 10 games. Yet on home soil they’ve dropped points in only four of 25 games all season.
Home comforts: Aguero scores most of his goals at the Etihad StadiumThey’re not out of the title race yet but a better away record would have made such a big difference.
When teams have had a go at City they haven’t counter-attacked quickly enough, whereas when they defend at home they counter rapidly.
They showed how it should be done when they beat Manchester United 6-1 and counter-attacked so well.
But their best away performance was against Spurs when they won 5-1 – it was magnificent.
However, that was a rarity. They generally work hard but are too slow, so Aguero has not been getting on to the end of that slipped through ball. Instead he has been collecting the ball and running into midfielders and defenders on the edge of the box.
Slow out of the box: City have struggled away from home this seasonSince the absence of Carlos Tevez, and despite Mario Balotelli’s goals and the good spell he had just after Christmas, Aguero has not only been their best striker, he’s one of their best players, alongside Joe Hart and Vincent Kompany.
They have players such as Yaya Toure, Micah Richards and David Silva who can break away with the ball at speed but for some reason that hasn’t happened away from the Etihad Stadium.
If City can improve on that next season it will make a big difference and you’ll see Aguero with similar figures home and away.
If City had been better on the road the league table would look very different.
Room for improvement: Mancini needs to work on his tactics away from home Martinez learns from FergieWigan earned their reward for playing with the right attitude to beat Manchester United in midweek and it’s that attitude that could keep them in the Premier League.
United manager Sir Alex Ferguson often says draws weren’t good enough for his team and has always played to win. When games are in the balance he’d always have a go at winning 1-0 and risk defeat rather than play for a draw.
Wigan have been going for it too and it’s paying off. Teams at the bottom often try to keep it tight until the 60th minute and then go for it in the last 30 but that doesn’t work. A point is not enough for any of them. They have to be braver from the start.
Going for it: Wigan attacked Man UnitedRoberto Martinez is taking a leaf out of Fergie’s book to try to keep Wigan up and if they continue to play as fearlessly in their remaining games as they have been, it might just work.
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