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Manchester City’s opening Champions League commitment this season was away to Shakhtar Donetsk and it saw their record goal-scorer Sergio Aguero consigned to the bench while Gabriel Jesus started and subsequently scored.

Eyebrows were raised at the team selection. There was no think-of-the-children, shock and horror: just the arching of eyebrows because after all common consensus had it that the European trophy would be City’s main priority this term and also common consensus has Aguero pegged as the club’s best striker. So what gave?

One month later away to Crystal Palace, in a must-win league game, Aguero was once again relegated to sub and once again his like-for-like replacement Jesus found the back of the net. Now football’s knitting circle began to cluck and gossip.

With Pep Guardiola an affirmed admirer of the Brazilian’s pressing and work-rate, perhaps his deployment in key away games signified that Aguero’s long-held monopoly of the first choice striking role was waning. Perhaps – whisper it quietly for more dramatic effect – this was the clearest indication yet that one of the Premier League’s most infamously lethal hit-men was on the decline?

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In November City headed to Anfield, a ground that had hardly been a happy hunting ground for them in recent times and the same can be said of Aguero, who had drawn a blank there in seven previous attempts. A failure to score – despite being furnished with chances – had the commentators mulling on his curse with ominous tones.

It also led to some corners of social media writing off a forward who has fired his side to four titles. A legend no less.

Staying with Liverpool the prolific Argentine may repeatedly come unstuck in L4 but in his seven league appearances against the Reds at home he has scored each and every time. He is then cursed at Anfield but a one-man curse at the Etihad.

As for suggestions that his powers are fading it should be remembered that in the past three seasons he stands alone as the only British-based forward to score 30+ goals in each campaign across all competitions. The year before – 2015/16 – he still managed to muster 29 goals despite missing 52 days due to injury.

To put his recent prolificacy into context since Pep Guardiola has been in charge of the Blues his go-to difference-maker has scored 108 goals. The entire Manchester United squad in that period, across every competition, have put away 327. He has individually scored just shy of a third of United’s total tally.

And it’s a haul that is showing no signs of slowing down either.

This season only two strikers have scored more in the Premier League and he has averaged a goal every 82 minutes. His movement off the ball has been mosquito-sharp while his body-language is consistently that of a player highly motivated to wreak havoc. In short, he is approaching a peak that should have the rest fearful.

It is entirely understandable that rival fans look for any conceivable clue that Sergio Aguero is flagging through age.

Unfortunately for them that seems to be a long way off just yet.