MAN CITY 4 – 2 Leicester – PLAYER RATINGS
19 Jan
Hart - Couldn’t have done anything to prevent Leicester’s two goals and generally commanded his box well against a barrage of set-pieces. Made a couple of reaction saves from deflections but wasn’t called into action a great deal - 6
Zabaleta - A solid display. Tried to get forward as often as possible and played important role in Vieira’s goal. Was lucky that Dyer didn’t swap wings though as he would have struggled to cope with his pace. Fortunate that Gallagher went off early, as he was a tricky opponent - 6
Kompany - Lacking the consistency he displayed earlier on in the season. Still our best centre-back by a country mile but with Touré and now Lescott looking shaky beside him, we need him to step it up again. Could have done more to prevent Dyer’s goal but generally did fine - 6
Lescott - Slightly surprising choice given his recklessness against Wolves and again he looked poor. Never confident in possession and was dragged out of place on many an occasion due to the pace of Dyer. Solid in air but should not be first choice - 5
Kolarov - In this formation, it’s imperative he provides an attacking outlet down the left and fortunately, this is precisely what he enjoys doing. Scored his first goal which was drilled in low and hard, but still unsure of him defensively. Is improving week by week - 7
Milner - The legs to Vieira’s brain. Works hard to find space for himself and distribution is normally good. Occupies decent positions and tends to drift wide to create space - 6.5
Y. Touré - Only managed one of his ‘runs’ but was matched for the first time this season, by Bamba. Kept the ball moving in midfield, but as I’ve said before, we need to be seeing more from him - 6
Vieira - The brain thinks a second ahead of everyone else, but the legs and body are two seconds behind. Looked a couple of yards of the pace throughout and was forced into some rash tackles. Experience in the dressing room but doesn’t cut the mustard on the pitch - 5
A. Johnson - My man of the match. Occupied a very wide role in order to stretch the play and made good use of the space in front of him. The timing of his runs across the defence are impressive and Silva picked him out perfectly. Scored one and missed a couple other good chances - 8
Silva – Looked understandably rusty after his injury lay-off but it only takes one pass to create a goal and his through ball for Johnson was inch-perfect and reminiscent of the goal against West Ham. Taken off after an hour but lovely to see our creative spark return - 7
Tévez – His first goal, just like against Wolves, was created out of nothing and set us on our way. Worked hard throughout game but his penalty miss must raise serious questions as to whether he is the right candidate - 7.5
Subs
Barry - Made us tougher to break down in midfield. Linked well with Kolarov and a useful run out - 6
Jô - Not his fault he’s awful and not as good as the rest of the side, but he is dire - 4
8 for johnson seems a bit much IMHO. i agree the timing of his runs across the defence are superb yet he seems to struggle time after time to stay onside when sticking to his wing. he wasted good possession on a countless number of occasions by trying to do too much when a simple pass would have led to an easy chance for a team mate. he also should have had a hattrick from his 3 one-on-ones. pleasing to see him get into so many good positions but he has got to be less wasteful as a better opponent will punish us for it.
Does mancini need to play lescort again.As old as he is boyata is better than him.Poor man
I can not agree more with ratings provided, right on the spot. Lescott is a liability in defense. Not only is he prone to a few nerve-wracking slip-ups but also the main reason for Kompany’s so-so performance. In a team race, you are as fast as the slowest member of your team. Lescott has peaked, You can not teach an old dog new tricks. But the chances that Boyata or Boating improve drastically ,provided that they are given a chance, is huge. I am still wondering how much worse Micheal Johnson could have performed, had he played instead of rusty, old Viera?
Michael Johnson has only just returned from injury. He’s played 45mins for the EDS squad and is playing again for them tonight. He’s nowhere near ready to return to first team action.
I thought Kompany was worth more than a 6 pal.
you say he could have done more for the goal whereas most people seem to think it was very touch and go as to whether it was onside and if it was it was just a very good ball.
tbh he showed a moment of amazing class when he was chasing down a ball, slipped and still kept it away from the opponent.
and why the heck does he insist on playing joke. its mad. when you next see your good friend mancini that should be your number one question.
overall good result at eastlands even though myself and everyone around me was on the edge of their seats!
Got to agree with Mord on your marking down of Kompany, he was a 7 as far as I was concerned. He certainly played better than Kolarov in my opinion, who was one of the reason’s Lescott played so badly. During the first half Lescott was constantly pulled to the left to help Kolarov out and was over there again when Viera gave the penalty away. Dont get me wrong, I think he is a class player and his goal was top notch, but I think it is going to take him some time to get to grips with the English game. Lescott it seems, peaked while he was at Everton.
I think a 4 for Jo is abit harsh he came on with about 10 mins left if it had been anyone else you wouldn’t have marked them. Give the guy a break the guy keeps quiet when hes not playinng unlike some people (Adebayor, Richards) and works hard we all know he aint leaving cos Mancini likes him so lets just support him cos last time i checked he plays 4 City and were all City fans
The reason that Richards complains is because he is one of the best defenders in the world. He was the youngest player ever to cap for England’s defense and has captained City on many occasions. Richards is extremely athletic and plays great in the center of defense. I think him and Kompany is our best defensive partnership
Why do all city fans not like kolorov? what has he ever done wrong, two bad games thats all. He was about an 8 today defnitley
I don’t understand it either. He’s supposed to attack, thats what he’s meant to do but when he does get back he seems to prevent a lot of crosses and tackles brilliantly. I also don’t see how people say he’s slow, at one point last night he showed how quick he was when he was keeping up with whoever that quick player for Leicester was when Lescott couldn’t. I think he may be the second or third best left back in the world, along with Evra and Ashley Cole.
Disagree with Johnno getting MoTM…he gave it away too easily and missed a sitter?