Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart has praised four-goal hero Sergio Aguero after his performance against Spurs on Saturday, but also said he was ‘useless’ in training.
The Argentine striker levelled himself with Chelsea’s Diego Costa as the Premier League’s top scorer after netting an impressive four against Mauricio Pochettino’s side on Saturday.
The 26-year-old has had a remarkable season so far, scoring nine goals in the league and his team-mate, Joe Hart, has discussed the impact of Aguero at City, both on the field and on the training ground.
“He is one of those players – and I don’t think he will be unhappy with me saying it – that some days you look at him in training and he is useless,” Hart told reporters.
“But you know that, when it comes to games, he is going to score because he is that talented, that good a player. He is a big-game player.”
Had he not missed a spot-kick, Aguero could have scored five against Spurs and the keeper believes the former Atletico Madrid man should be praised for not dropping his head and having the right attitude.
“Sergio deserves all the plaudits he gets,” he continued. “He has scored four goals and he will be miffed at missing other chances but he kept plugging away when anyone else might have let missing the second penalty put them off. He showed his quality.
“The two penalties he scored were nice but the other two finishes were fantastic – and they were required because [Tottenham goalkeeper Hugo] Lloris played well.
“How good is he? Finishing-wise, he is one of the best. His goals-to-games ratio in the Premier League is the best but he still has a lot of work to do. He is still only young and hopefully, if we keep him fit, he will be pushing on.
“He’s a very important character in the dressing room and he does all the important things as well as being a brilliant footballer and that’s why we’re very lucky to have him.”