Newcastle 1 – 3 MAN CITY – PLAYER RATINGS
27 Dec
Hart - Was blocked off by Nolan for the Newcastle goal but will be disappointed with his distribution which was often hurried and wasteful. Made a couple of half-decent stops - 6
Boateng – Replaced Zabaleta and added height to the defence. Was solid throughout and got forward well. Not yet at his best but will turn out to be a fantastic signing - 6.5
Kompany - Very tough physical test against Carroll but was a rock at centre-half. Battled manfully and was superior in the air for most of the afternoon. After a blip against Everton, was back to his best - 8.5
Lescott - A more than able deputy. Doesn’t convince 100% but handled the threat of Carroll well. Adds a nice balance to the defence with his left foot - 7
Kolarov - Possesses one of the most powerful shots in the league and I’m sure we will see some spectacular goals this season. Got forward frequently in the first half and could have scored a couple. Linked well with Barry and Silva - 7
De Jong - Missed his bite against Everton. Showed how good he can be with an intelligent display, protecting the back four well and keeping up a decent tempo with his passing - 7
Y. Touré - Very disappointing, especially in the second half. Workrate was non-existent, whilst he did nothing in possession. Still yet to adapt fully to the different tempo, but must work harder to help the team - 5.5
Barry - Another mightily impressive performance from Gareth after his sterling display last Monday. Played neat triangles on the left, broke forward often and deserved his goal. A purple patch for Barry - 8.5
Milner - Mancini prefered him instead of Johnson on the right wing, possibly due to his greater defensive ability in tracking the dangerous pairing of Enrique and Gutierrez. Worked very hard for the team, helped to set up Tévez’s first goal and was singled out by Mancini as man of the match - 8.5
Silva – Very controlled in possession, as per usual, and saw a lot of the ball in the first half. Given a well-earned breather with twenty minutes to spare. His creativity will be needed on Tuesday to break down Aston Villa - 7
Tévez - Very iffy against Everton, but back to his effervescent best yesterday. Worked his socks off throughout and was unplayable in the first twenty minutes. Scored one but the Dubious Goals Panel may deny him a second - 8
Subs
A. Johnson - Provided the assist for City’s third goal and exploited the space well in his cameo - 6.5
Vieira - Not much time to make an impact but added solidity to the midfield and gave the side experience - 6
Balotelli - Normally if a substitute comes on after 85 minutes, I’d say ‘had no time to make an impact’ but this is Balotelli we’re talking about! Got booked, wrongly, after 38 seconds on the pitch, nearly came to blows with Tiote and I was worried he would be sent off every time the ball came near him. Nothing out of the ordinary! - No time to mark / 6
Have to disagree with a couple of things…
1.) Yaya was even worse than you say!
2.) Silva was slightly off the pace, wimped out of some hefty challenges and gave the ball away too easily, but i’ll let you off because when I was wlaking with Charlotte we both saw him and he smiled at me!
3.) Barry should have been Man of the Match or Kompany. What a superbly taken goal by Barry. Kompany was in the way of everything, put his body on the line and made some splendid clearances. Would have given him a 9.5
4.) For all Milner’s tenacity, he gave the ball away countless times, probably the most out of everyone bar Kolarov. He flew into some needless challenges too. He was here there and everywhere I do agree, but not MOTM worthy, especially when it was not him but Barry who pulled all the strings in the midfield. Would have given him an 8
5.) Tevez did a very good job upfront, took his first very nicely and he passed which was nice, and a great ball in by Milner. He did look injured though dont you think?