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Since Sergio Aguero’s heyday, two players have delivered 30 goals in a season for Manchester City. As one darted between two defenders to open the scoring for the champions at Stamford Bridge, it may have seemed like Clearlake Capital’s decision to raid the Etihad Stadium in 2022 had paid a rich dividend. As a footballer who has moved between Chelsea and City burst forward to curl in a long-range shot to double that advantage, Todd Boehly got to his feet: not to celebrate, but to leave. To some disbelief, the scorer of the second was the distinctly unprolific Mateo Kovacic. With a certain inevitability, the breakthrough came from Erling Haaland. Meanwhile, the previous man to earn entry to City’s 30 club was nowhere to be seen.
