MAN CITY 2 – 1 Chelsea – PLAYER RATINGS
22 Mar
Hart - Saw Cahill’s deflected strike trickle past him, but apart from one routine stop to deny Mata, he was completely untroubled. Kicking was well below-par - 6
Zabaleta - An absolute warrior who embodied the spirit shown by City yesterday. Gave a thoroughly committed performance, charging into tackles and bombing up and down the right flank with increasing regularity. Always available out wide and it his was his determination to get forward that created the penalty – 8.5
Richards - Made captain for the evening, moved into a central position and really stepped up to the mark. Took on added responsibility and raised his game. Dealt with the strength and movement of Torres comfortably and kept possession well - 7
K. Touré - Looking ever more settled following a run in the side. Flung his body in the way to block a couple of Chelsea shots and was dominant in the air throughout. Communicated all the time with Richards to organise the defence - 7
Clichy - A real contender for the man of the match after a magnificent display. His energy levels are frighteningly good, such is his ability to sprint forward to offer an outlet in attack and then retreat into defence at pace. Never stopped working and his presence down the left was key, especially in the second half. Dealt with the tricky Ramires well – 9
De Jong - Getting back to his destructive best in terms of his tackling and intercepting. A number of crunching challenges in the first half limited Chelsea’s attacking forays but does need to work on his distribution. Far too slow in possession, takes too many touches and hugely affects our tempo – 7
Y. Touré - An imposing physical presence in midfield, as usual, but couldn’t quite influence matters as he would have liked. Surged forward occasionally and was a threat, and was always available to receive the ball - 7
Nasri - Without doubt, his best game in a City shirt. Absolutely ran the game in the opening twenty minutes and really stepped up towards the end when we were pushing to save, and then win, the match. Looked determined, menacing and his dribbling, at pace, with the ball was exquisite. A sublime winning goal capped off a man of the match performance - 9
Silva - Frustratingly, and worryingly, well below-par. Clearly feeling the effects of his ankle injury and could benefit from a short break, but his touch in the final third isn’t quite there. Tries hard to be the creator but it’s just not happening for him at the moment - 5.5
Balotelli - His glaring miss from a one-on-one with Cech stands out, when Mario really ought to have done better, and it was a bit of a nothing display from Balo. Worked hard to track back when he lost the ball, but his touch in attack deserted him. Replaced at the break - 5.5
Aguero - Raises his level of performance when our backs are against the wall, and did so again last night. Was a tireless runner throughout, stretching the Chelsea backline with his movement and pace, creating space for others in the process. Took his penalty with customary composure - 8
Subs
Barry - Brought on at half time to give the midfield greater solidity and was back to his best after a couple of off days. Broke up the play in the centre impressively, reading the game well and using the ball effectively – 7
Tévez - All attention was focused on him and he didn’t disappoint. It was written in the script for him to score the winner and although he couldn’t quite manage that, he had a huge role in Nasri’s goal. Understandably lacked sharpness but still has the awareness and intelligence to move into space. Held the ball up well, showed his strength and vision at times and if he stays motivated, will be an asset for the rest of the campaign – 7
Dzeko - Brought on when we were trailing, but lost possession too many times in the latter stages. Added an extra aerial option and his movement was good, but could have done with retaining the ball better - 6
dzeko changed the game he won the corner that got us back in the game dont remember him giving the ball away?
He had the lowest pass completion of the team – only 63%, 22% below the average according to the EPIndex.
I would give Richards an 8.5. He was rock solid in the middle. I could not believe Ballo did not put that Ball in. Those balls should always go in if we want to win the title esp against teams like Chelsea.
Agree with Josh. Dzeko forced numerous Chelsea errors when he came on, pressed well and earnt us a couple of corners in the dying stages. I think he holds the ball up well, and actually took a shot with one of his 1st touches, something the game was screaming out for, would live to see more shots at times, it’s frustrating when we overplay it. It was nice to see 3 strikers working well together tho unlike earlier on in the season. Like in the second half against sporting, when we need a result and goals having three strikers on seems to make a huge difference. Happy to now have the option of tevez for when balotelli is having one of his ever more frequent bad days. Hopefully our little goal drought is over now! MOTD reported a good reception for Carlos, I was at the game and world say it was about 50/50 cheers and boos, doubt they’ll be booing next time tho, I for one am just glad the whole saga is over!
Clichy – 9 your having a laugh…. He had about 10 opportunities put a decent cross in and managed none. I thought Dzeko did ok, Richards easily 8.5 also thought Yaya was worth an 8…. But overall the performance was great and Chelsea were lucky to be ahead.
the score should have been 4-1 we wasted too many opportunities.looking forward for next game. come on blues
Nasri should start every remaining games
Must say, I thought that Yaya was well worth a higher mark. Sprayed the ball around – 93% pass completion and had a couple of driving runs that caused serious trouble. Thought he and Nasri ran the game.
I was more impressed that Tevez didn’t insist on attempting to score the game-winner (in a effort to regain some glory or something) but instead made a perfect pass off to Nasri.
I think there may be hope for him yet.
My father sends this message;
“Tell Steven that I think he is losing his touch. Would he like to borrow my glasses for the game because Zabaleta was far better than Clichy and due to epitomising what City is all about, deserved man of the match.” He also states that Yaya was far better than Clichy too.
That is all, good riddance
a little late with reply but agree completely with ratings clichy and nasri were outstanding