Sergio Aguero’s performances in 2018 have been the best since Pep Guardiola arrived at Manchester City, according to the Spaniard.

Aguero has scored 15 goals since the turn of the year, but the wait for his 200th in City colours continued as he failed to find the net in the commanding 1-0 victory over Chelsea on Sunday.

It was the second successive match that the Argentinian – who opened the scoring in the 3-0 EFL Cup final victory over Arsenal last week – has failed to score, but Guardiola was pleased with his performance.

‘Since we were together here with Sergio, I think the last month, two months is the best Sergio I have seen,’ he told a post-match news conference.

‘Not just scoring goals, but he doesn’t lose one ball. He makes a movement for runs in behind, he is the first guy to make a high press, to help that second line be more comfortable with the ball.

‘I am so pleased. Okay, he didn’t score. It’s not a problem, he will score in the future, but he did really well.’

City moved on to 78 points with nine Premier League games remaining and, prior to the match, Chelsea boss Antonio Conte had tipped them to reach triple figures. However, that is not a target for Guardiola.

‘I never speak with the players about records. What really matters is being champions. I never spoke with the players about records,’ he said.

‘Against Basel [in the Champions League] and Stoke City, we will try to play the way we did today, like we did all season.

‘Trying to play to play good, to win the game, but it’s not the main thing. Records are a consequence of what you have done.

‘You have to analyse what the opponent does and what you have to do to beat them.’

-This story originally appeared on FourFourTwo.co.za