Wayne Rooney vs. Sergio Aguero: Which Striker's Hat-Trick Was More Impressive?

Mohamed Al-Hendy@Mo_HendyX.com LogoCorrespondent ISeptember 10, 2011

Wayne Rooney vs. Sergio Aguero: Which Striker's Hat-Trick Was More Impressive?

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    Surely, after this weekend's performances, it would be very difficult to bet against the top two spots of the Premier League going to the two Manchester teams. For the fourth consecutive weekend, both Manchester City and Manchester United recorded victories, and both did so in style.

    Sergio Aguero scored all three goals for City as they recorded a comfortable 3-0 victory over Wigan Athletic, while Wayne Rooney recorded his second consecutive hat-trick in a 5-0 domination of Bolton.

    The big question that everyone wants answered, though, is this: Which hat-trick was more impressive? Who deserves the title of being the most impressive striker of week four in the English Premier League?

    Let's find out.

Skill

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    The first category we'll look at in determining which hat-trick was more impressive is skill. Which hat-trick required more technique or ability to record?

    Rooney's hat-trick consisted of a converted shot from a cross into the box, a follow-up shot after Phil Jones had penetrated the defense and had his shot blocked by Jussi Jaaskelainen, and an impressive one-time shot from the edge of the penalty box following a pass from Nani.

    Sergio Aguero's hat-trick consisted of a shot in the box off a pass from David Silva, a finessed shot off a through pass from Samir Nasri, and a slotted shot off a perfect through pass from David Silva.

    Both hat-tricks were impressive and showed the predatory instincts of both strikers, but Wayne Rooney's hat-trick involved more skill.

    Though Phil Jones did most of the work for Rooney on the second goal, Rooney did manage to hold off a defender to convert his first goal, and his second goal was a demonstration of great ability as he was able to one-time the ball into the net from the edge of the box.

    Meanwhile, though Aguero did show good instincts to convert the chances given to him on all three goals, they were practically served on a plate to him for goals two and three. Goal one did require Sergio Aguero to redirect the ball at a sharp angle, which he did impressively.

    Score: Rooney 1 - Aguero 0

Difficulty

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    The next factor that we must look at is the opposition on which these goals were scored and the circumstances in which they were scored under. This is almost like three categories wrapped into one.

    The level of the opposition in these two cases was fairly equal. Last season, Bolton was a better team than Wigan, but this season Wigan has more points than Bolton, and both teams have yet to record more than one win.

    In terms of the defenses in question, both teams have average or below average defenses in comparison with the rest of the defenses in the Premier League. Bolton have Gary Cahill, one of the best center backs in the Premier League, but it was Zat Knight, his defensive partner, who was given the task of guarding Wayne Rooney, so its hard to say that Cahill really made Rooney's day uncomfortable to any particular degree.

    Finally, both games were fairly easy games for both Wayne Rooney and Sergio Aguero. Their respective teams were hardly ever under pressure and were in control of their respective games throughout the 90 minutes. Thus, none of the goals scored by either Rooney or Aguero carried any extra importance, although Aguero's goals were the ones that won the game, whereas Rooney's goals were largely just icing on Manchester United's cake.

    Because the difficulty level was fairly even for both Rooney and Aguero this weekend, this category ends in a tie.

    Score: Rooney 1 - Aguero 0

Finishing

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    The last category I want to look at to determine which striker's hat-trick was more impressive is finishing. While a hat-trick is always an impressive feat, a hat-trick scored with only five shots on target is much more impressive than a hat-trick scored with twenty.

    Against Bolton, Wayne Rooney took four total shots, three of which were on target and ended up in the back of the net. That gives Rooney a 75-percent shots-to-goals conversion rate for the game.

    Against Wigan, Sergio Aguero took six shots, three of which were on target and ended up in the back of the net. His two extra shots give him a 50-percent shots-to-goals conversion rate for the game.

    Wayne Rooney wins this category for being the more clinical finisher on the day.

    Score: Rooney 2 - Aguero 0 

Conclusion

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    The final score is 2-0 for Wayne Rooney, with the difficulty section coming out even. Of the two hat-tricks scored in the English Premier League this Saturday, Wayne Rooney's was more impressive.

    What do you think? Agree or disagree? Do you think there should've been other categories for the hat-tricks to be evaluated in? If so, what are these categories?

    Please share your opinions and comments below, and I will make sure to get back to them in a timely manner.

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