Sergio Aguero the difference as Manuel Pellegrini hopes to leave Pep a difficult act to follow

Sunderland 0 Manchester City 1: He may be too diplomatic to admit it, but Manuel Pellegrini’s quest to leave Pep Guardiola with the toughest of acts to follow moved a step closer as Manchester City maintained their four-pronged pursuit of silverware thanks to the brilliance of Sergio Aguero.

The in-form striker sealed victory with a clinical first-half strike, his 12th goal in his last 10 Premier League appearances, to maintain City’s bid for a third top-flight title in the five seasons. They are through to the last 16 of the FA Cup, and relaunch their Champions League campaign this month before ending February with a trip to Wembley for the Capital One Cup final against Liverpool. It’s far from a shoddy record for the Chilean to boast as his time in charge draws to a close.

The 62-year-old will be replaced by Guardiola in the summer. Great things are expected under the Spaniard, but the 45-year-old will have his work cut out to match the exploits of the South American if City continue in this vein.