City rampant in Romania with emphatic Champions League win

Sergio Aguero recovered from missing two penalties to bag a hat-trick as Manchester City powered towards the Champions League group stage with a 5-0 thrashing of Steaua Bucharest.

David Silva and Nolito were also on target in an impressive display in Romania that seemingly renders the second leg of the play-off tie next week a formality.

Pep Guardiola controversially left Joe Hart on the bench for a second successive game but this was a performance that not only maintained the new manager's winning start but saw it gain serious momentum.

Victory would have been even more emphatic had Aguero not failed twice from 12 yards in the opening 20 minutes, while Nolito and Aleksandar Kolarov also hit the frame of the goal, but Guardiola was happy enough.

The Catalan, twice a winner of the competition while in charge at Barcelona, said: We are very pleased about the way we played. Of course, with this result we are almost in the Champions League.

“When you win 5-0 in the Champions League against the best team in Romania it's because you do very good things. Our intensity and aggression without the ball and with the ball made the difference.

“The quality of players is fantastic and that's why I thank Manchester City so much for giving me this opportunity to train these amazing players.''

Guardiola also hailed the attitude of Aguero in bouncing back from his two early setbacks.

Aguero saw a seventh-minute penalty saved by Florin Nita and then shot over with his second attempt from the spot.

Guardiola said: “The fact he missed the penalties is part of the game but it was important that Sergio stayed focused and didn't get down. He focused on his game and afterwards he scored three goals.

“It's not important how many times you fall down, it's how many times you stand up and try again.''

Aguero has now missed four of his last five penalties in European competition.

• Localsport