GUS POYET admitted Sunderland were unable to cope with a rampant Sergio Aguero as their fine recent record against Manchester City came crashing to an end at the Stadium of Light.

Aguero scored two goals and set up another as City shook off the surprise of conceding a first-half opener to Connor Wickham to eventually run out comprehensive 4-1 winners.

The result ended a run of four successive Sunderland home wins against the reigning Premier League champions, and while Manuel Pellegrini’s side boasted a number of fine performers, Aguero’s inspired performance was the decisive factor.

The Argentinian boasts a remarkable 19 goals in 16 starts in all competitions this season, and can justifiably claim to be the most in-form player in the English game.

“To mark Aguero, you need to be fit, very good, aware, concentrating, aggressive, have pace, have some cover behind, and you need to be spot on - and even then he will find a way to complicate you,” said Poyet.

“We didn’t defend well, we didn’t cover each other, we were not spot on. So in the end he took advantage of that. Credit to that type of player - he is unique.

“At this moment in time, he is one of the top three in-form strikers. He is performing week in, week out against everyone. Home and away, at any level - it could be us or Bayern Munich, and that shows how good he is.”

Pellegrini shared Poyet’s enthusiasm, with last night’s result ensuring that City remain within six points of Chelsea in the race for the Premier League title.

With Edin Dzeko injured, Aguero is carrying a great deal of attacking pressure on his shoulders, but his response has been to elevate his standards to an even loftier level.

His first goal last night was a magnificent solo effort that saw him nudge the ball past a helpless Sebastian Coates before lashing home, and his cushioned lay off for Stevan Jovetic’s goal was the best touch of the game.

“I don’t know if there is a better striker in Europe,” said Pellegrini. “There are a lot of good strikers, but in the last few games I think he has shown he is one of the best five players in the world. It’s not just that he is scoring, he is also playing very well generally.

“He is a very important player, although this team is not just Sergio Aguero. We play in a way that is very useful to him to score a lot of goals. I also think it is very important for him not to just think about scoring, he’s doing all the things well and the team is playing very well. We are always trying to be an aggressive team.”

While City were in imperious form throughout, Sunderland were unable to match the standards that enabled them to claim a point from last weekend’s goalless draw with Chelsea.

The home side’s defenders were unable to close down their opponents as they would have liked, and passed up possession with an alarming regularity ensuring they repeatedly found themselves under pressure in their own half of the field.

“I decided to go at them early and create problems, not just sit back and wait,” said Poyet, who revealed that Adam Johnson was unavailable because of a muscular problem. “We started quite well and had a chance with Jack Rodwell, and then scored the goal somehow.

“It was the right time to grow up into the game and be in control, but then Aguero appeared from nowhere and did something special, and we were a little bit shocked. We were not strong to react from that goal.

“After that, overall, we were poor technically. When you keep losing the ball continuously on every part of the pitch, you know Man City are going to be attacking you too many times and you will pay the price.”