Cardiff City vs Manchester City. Premier League.
Cardiff City StadiumAttendance32,321.
Highlights and report as Pep Guardiola's side respond to Champions League defeat in style
Saturday 22 September 2018 23:03, UK
Sergio Aguero marked his 300th Manchester City appearance with his 205th goal for the club as the Premier League champions thumped Cardiff City 5-0.
Fresh from signing a one-year contract extension, Aguero tucked in City's opener (32) after he was picked out by Bernardo Silva, who scored with a looping header three minutes later.
Ilkay Gundogan curled in an unstoppable effort (44) and was then lucky to escape injury before the break when Joe Ralls caught the German just below the knee with a challenge that saw the Cardiff midfielder receive a booking.
In the second half, Riyad Mahrez tapped in his first City goal (67) before scoring his second late on (89) as Pep Guardiola's side responded to their midweek Champions League defeat to Lyon in perfect fashion.
Cardiff frustrated City in the opening half-hour, but the visitors broke the deadlock after 34 minutes with Aguero pouncing on Silva's cut across the box to celebrate his landmark appearance in style.
Three minutes after the assist, Silva got his name on the scoresheet, with the Portuguese latching onto Leroy Sane's cross and looping his backwards header - perhaps fortuitously - into the far corner.
Gundogan then made it three just before the break, playing a short one-two with Raheem Sterling on the edge of the area before curling an unstoppable effort into the postage stamp.
A contentious moment followed before half-time, with Ralls late and catching Gundogan. Just a yellow card was shown, and it was an incident which harked back to the FA Cup meeting in January when Guardiola was left furious after Joe Bennett was cautioned for a high tackle on Sane.
City remained on top in the second half despite applying the brakes, with Sane going close when his header hit the outside of the post.
A fourth goal came midway through the half, with Mahrez scoring his first in a City shirt when tapping into the empty net from Gundogan's low ball across the box.
Mahrez then scored his second at the death, gratefully receiving Bruno Ecuele Manga's poor, misplaced pass before firing a low effort into the far corner.
The midfielder ran the show at the Cardiff City Stadium. He played a pivotal part in City's opener before curling in a beauty of his own for their third before the break.
It was a relief to see the German come away from Ralls' tackle unscathed, and Gundogan then continued to punish the hosts in the second half, laying it on a plate for Mahrez before being replaced by Phil Foden with 20 minutes left.
Cardiff boss Neil Warnock: "It was always going to be tough. We started the game well but it just shows you when you make a mistake, it's our corner kick that they scored from.
"To go two down so early after that first goal, you could see one or two heads go down. All credit to them, I thought they did well the second half.
"That quality just shone though. One lapse and Aguero does what he's good at, and I think the second one is a fluke. I don't think [Silva] meant to do that, but that's what you do when you're going well."
Man City boss Pep Guardiola: "The level today was the level of last season. We cannot forget the Champions League, the opponents are good too, we knew that. It's part of the process.
"The season is long, there are a lot of games to play. After one not good result, the team came back where it normally is."
Cardiff host Burnley on Super Sunday next weekend - live on Sky Sports Premier League - while Manchester City are in Carabao Cup action at Oxford United on Tuesday before hosting Brighton on Saturday in the league.
