Manchester City 6 Queens Park Rangers 0
Manchester City Aguero 4', 50', 65' (pen), Kolarov 32', Milner 70, Silva 87'
Man of the match Sergio Aguero (Man City)
Manchester // Think of Manchester City against Queens Park Rangers and extraordinarily unpredictable drama springs to mind.
Not on Sunday.
The scoreline may have suggested it was spectacular but QPR’s demise ranked as one of the least surprising events of the season, both in the factual ratification of their relegation and the ignominious manner of their departure from the Premier League.
Three years ago, they stayed up despite defeat as City captured the title in utterly improbable fashion, courtesy of Sergio Aguero’s 94th-minute goal. Yesterday, Rangers’ fate was clear from the moment Aguero scored the fourth-minute opener.
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He ended up with a treble, his City colleagues another three as QPR equalled their heaviest ever Premier League defeat. In a one-sided game, it was one-way traffic. Rangers’ route was evident, back to the Championship. They have performed a U-turn in the space of nine, largely demoralising, months.
They lacked the spirit and the solidity, the quality and the ability, the organisation and the determination required to secure the victory they needed. Just as they were when they went down in 2013, Rangers have been an expensive embarrassment. They were a shambles.
Yet, dreadful as Chris Ramsey’s team were, appallingly as they defended, perhaps the most damning detail did not come on the pitch. Instead, it came when they confirmed midfielder Sandro was ruled out because of problems with his British residency visa. That is QPR, where the farce is not confined to the footballing field. Now there is no home for them in the top flight.
“Our fate is what it is,” said Ramsey philosophically. The problems predated his promotion from the ranks in February. He hopes he can provide a long-term solution by being confirmed as manager. “It is a fantastic job,” he added. “It is a club I have really taken to my heart.” On days like this, though, they are particularly hard to love and, as he accepted, this was damaging personally.
“People look for heads when there is a heavy defeat,” he added. “We came here with a lot of hope, shot ourselves in the foot and gave away three set-pieces which they scored from. The performance is probably the worst one for a long time.” The freedom they afforded Aguero and David Silva, he said, “are why rollickings are given out.”
They were deserved, too, much as City merit praise for their biggest league win of the campaign. Aguero delivered his third hat-trick in seven months, extending his fine form and ensuring he closes in on the Golden Boot. Each were notable for the effortless class of his finishing and the hapless nature of Rangers’ defending. His first came when he accepted a pass from his fellow Argentine Pablo Zabaleta, embarked on a diagonal run, collected a fortunate rebound off Matt Phillips and defeated Robert Green with effortless class. His second came when Suk-Young Yun contrived to allow David Silva’s pass to reach Aguero, who sped away to sidefoot past Green. His 25th league goal of the campaign was an emphatic penalty after Matt Phillips fouled David Silva.
In between, and for the second consecutive home game, Aleksandar Kolarov scored a free kick. James Milner was provided with a tap-in by Aguero while Silva accepted the sixth after a slick combination with substitute Wilfried Bony. Rangers’ joint heaviest Premier League defeat highlighted their problems: they have had the poorest and most porous defence in the division this season.
“The players are in a very solemn mood and they know they haven’t done themselves justice,” said Ramsey. It was a comment that could have been applied to Rangers’ season, not just one match.
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