Saturday, May 1, 2021 at 5:58 PM• Mart Oude Nijeweeme • Last update: 18:25

Manchester City can become champions of the Premier League without playing on Sunday evening, should fellow city rivals and pursuer Manchester United lose to Liverpool. Pep Guardiola’s team was 0-2 too strong for Crystal Palace on Saturday afternoon and partly thanks to Sergio Aguëro who was in good shape. Afterwards, Guardiola was full of praise for the man who is closing the door behind him in Manchester after ten years after this season.

Aguëro took the first goal on Saturday afternoon. The Argentinian striker was served from the left by Benjamin Mendy and only one assumption was needed to chase the ball into the short intersection. “What a goal, what an action, what a player and what a man”, Guardiola said to the BBC over his pupil. “I’m head over heels in love with him. We’re going to enjoy the last matches with him. People may not believe it, but we missed him. We haven’t always been able to use him, but maybe we have him on it now. right time back. ” Agüero has announced that he will be leaving Manchester City next summer after ten seasons.

The attack leader had to miss most of the games this season due to injuries and only played in ten games in the Premier League. So Agüero was decisive against Crystal Palace. “How many times has he done this already?” Guardiola wonders aloud. “He knows he has special qualities. In the first half we got off to a slow start, which is logical after a Champions League match. But in the second half we often looked for the attack and the individual quality made the difference.” City decided the game in a time frame of one and a half minutes. After the opening goal, Ferran Torres ended the game not much later.

City’s lead over United is thirteen points after Saturday with four rounds to go. If the arch rival is defeated against Liverpool, the champagne can be uncorked in the blue part of Manchester. “We’re thinking about putting it in the fridge,” laughs Guardiola. “The Premier League is in, we have it in our own hands. We can now focus on calculating the final of the Champions League.” On Tuesday evening, Guardiola’s team will defend a 1-2 lead from the first game with Paris Saint-Germain.