SERGIO AGUERO made a rare start for the champions elect and produced a piece of magic at Selhurst Park that broke the deadlock and served as a reminder to his boss that he still has plenty to offer between now and the end of the season.

Ferran Torres, another stranger to the starting line-up, also found himself on the team sheet with both himself and the Argentinian netting to give Manchester City a 2-0 win over the Eagles, moving them a step closer to being crowned Premier League champions.

Pep Guardiola made no less than eight changes to the side that beat PSG in midweek, showcasing the wealth of resources that he has at his disposal with the likes of Benjamin Mendy, Nathan Ake and the aforementioned Torres getting a run-out.

But it was Aguero who stole the headlines with the type of goal that has made him one of the most feared strikers in Europe, while surely catching the eye of any potential suitors who may be looking to procure his services in the summer with the striker set to leave City at the end of the season.

“What a goal, what a player. He has shown this many times in his career,” beamed the City boss when asked about the Citizens all-time top-scorer. 

Guardiola was referring to the opening goal of the match that arrived in the 57th minute of the game. 

The marauding Mendy, picking up the ball wide on the left, fizzed a low pass into the path of Aguero that most strikers may have struggled to control, moving at such pace themselves. But the City striker’s first touch was deft and his second devastating.

The deftness was provided by the sublime control with his instep, followed by an unstoppable shot into the roof of the net with the outside of the same boot.

It was the type of control and finish that has long been the trademark of the Argentinian, with the goal taking him to second in the list behind Wayne Rooney for the most Premier League goals scored for a single club.

“He deserves [the] record and maybe he can play more games to help him achieve this,” said Guardiola.

The visitors killed off the game within the space of a minute when Torres got his name on the scoresheet with a low left footed curling effort into the corner of the net from the edge of the box.

But most of the praise was rightly reserved for Man of the Match Aguero, who will be hoping his performance has moved him up the pecking order in Guardiola’s thoughts when the Spaniard is selecting his team for the second-leg encounter with PSG in midweek.

“Sergio is a top player, humble and the nicest human being. It is not normal to have these qualities in one player. That’s why I love him as a player and a man. He is another weapon that we have on Tuesday if we need him,” reflected Guardiola as his thoughts now moved towards the PSG encounter.

Manchester City’s win against Palace meant that a Liverpool victory against Manchester United the following day would result in the blue half of Manchester being crowned champions. While the Manchester City boss would like to tie the title up as soon as possible, he did not show too much concern about the outcome of the match.

“I will keep an eye on the game tomorrow, but if United win then we still have four games to get two points.”