City put their midweek Champions League defeat behind them with a convincing win in South Wales as Neil Warnock's side still search for their first league win
SERGIO AGUERO celebrated his new £220,000-a-week contract with his 205th Manchester City goal as the Champions ran riot against struggling Cardiff.
The prolific Argentine international applied a sublime finish to Bernadro Silva’s 32nd-minute cross on a filthy afternoon in south Wales.
Just 24 hours after committing himself to City for another three years, the club’s record scorer showed that he still has plenty more to offer despite turning 30 in the summer.
Aguero, making his 300th appearance for the club, was simply too good for the Premier League newcomers who are still waiting for their first win since gaining promotion.
For the first half hour, Cardiff were happy to play with everyone behind the ball and let the visitors create pretty patterns without seriously threatening.
At one point in the first-half, Pep Guardiola’s men were up to a staggering 85 per cent possession yet were still struggling to find a way through to Neil Etheridge’s goal.
Cardiff were wary of getting too physical with their lavishly gifted opponents after the mauling their tactics received from Guardiola after last season’s FA Cup fourth-round clash.
And they paid the price for that caution when Ilkay Gundogan swapped passes with Raheem Sterling on the edge of the area before curling a delicious 44th-minute shot into the top corner.
It was all getting too much for Neil Warnock’s men and Joe Ralls was fortunate to escape with only a yellow card from ref Michael Oliver for a horrible studs-up challenge on Gundogan just before the break.
And the problems continued to pile up for Warnock when full-back Lee Peltier suffered shoulder ligament damage when he slipped chasing Sane a minute into the second half.
City were now just toying with their outclassed opponents, who were in a full damage limitation mode and simply trying to keep the scoreline respectable.
Yet even that crumb of comfort was denied them when Riyad Mahrez added a fourth for City just six minutes after replacing Aguero.
Mahrez got his second after Bluebirds defender Bruno cleared straight into his path to fire home the fifth.
