MAN CITY 2 – 1 Liverpool – PLAYER RATINGS
27 Dec
Hart - This was the dominant, solid Hart of old. He saved superbly in the first half from Coutinho and then spread himself well late on to deny Johnson. Couldn’t have done much for the visitors’ goal but there was a sense of security about what he did - 8
Zabaleta - Some of his interplay with Navas during the first hour was splendid. He overlapped with precision, his touch was delicate and he was a committed presence in defence - 7
Kompany - Given a tough time thanks to the movement of Suarez. He tended to follow the striker high up the pitch but got turned repeatedly and was forced to sprint back to recover position. Scored the crucial equaliser and was OK for the most part but it wasn’t the authoritative performance to which we have become accustomed - 6.5
Lescott - Panicked whenever he was on the ball and his lack of pace was shown up after the break when he was forced to cover for Kolarov but he was mostly fine. Cleared the ball and won his tackles, as he invariably does - 6.5
Kolarov - His threat when advancing down the left in the first half was a feature of our play. He produced a string of powerful deliveries into the box, which is his forte, but his frailties at the back were evident throughout. His poor positioning played Sterling onside early on, even though the Liverpool attacker was given offside, whilst he dallied in our box late on, tried to flick the ball away from Suarez and nearly gifted the visitors a second goal - 7
Y. Touré - Needed to be more disciplined in terms of his defensive duties, as his wandering forward and then propensity to amble back left us outnumbered in midfield and worryingly open. On the ball, he was a strong presence and used possession intelligently - 6.5
Fernandinho - Struggled, especially in the first half, to impose himself on proceedings as Liverpool found space at will in the centre of the pitch. Improved after the break and was a prominent figure in the closing stages but this wasn’t one of his standout displays - 6.5
Navas - It’s unusual for a winger to be as heavily involved as he was. Throughout the game, he was a notable presence in all our attacks, whether in providing width, drifting infield or bursting over the top with his explosive pace. His end product was generally good and he supported Zabaleta well when turning towards his own goal - 8.5
Nasri - Showed plenty of intent when in possession and was a lively performer but he didn’t see as much of the ball as he would have liked, especially in advanced areas. Replaced by Milner in the second half - 7
Silva - Afforded a more central role with Navas included ahead of Dzeko, and that meant he was a key figure in our attacks, seeing plenty of the ball and teasing Liverpool’s backline with his movement. Everything he does oozes control - 8
Negredo - He’s the perfect blend of aggressive physicality and delicate touches, matching his bullying of central defenders with finesse and style. Worked tirelessly, harrying, closing down and setting the tone for an energetic performance. Scored the winner, albeit fortuitously, and he gave a near-perfect target man display - 8
Subs
Milner - Tightened matters up down City’s left, helping Kolarov with defensive work and forcing Glen Johnson to retreat, rather than burst forward constantly - 6
Džeko - Barely featured - 6
Garcia - I can’t remember him touching the ball - No time to mark
We are certainly a different team with kompany and silva playing. For a player of apparent ‘world class’ yaya doesn’t do it for me enough. Of course he scores goals now and then, but the amount of times he fails to track a man and get goal side is comical. He comes off second best on too man occasions too for such a big strong player. We certainly weren’t at our best and Liverpool played well and deserved a point, but we got the job done and that’s all that matters. Bring on a hatful against palace!
It is not his fault, he is not a DM. Yaya should be pushed forward to play in an advanced position at the very least against top pacy teams like Liverpool game. I prefer to pair Milner / Rodwell with Fernandinho.
My brother and I had the same conversation, Yaya is wasted as a defensive midfielder and struggles for pace against the top teams.
I think Kompany did better than 6.5 and Kolarov deserves a bit more credit. He is really doing a fine job in the left flank.
I guess he was a victim of Mancini defensive Italian style under which Clichy thrived. And now it seems Clichy is becoming the victim of offensive Chilean style. Either way, I do hope both of them hit the top form because this season I do not mind another title at all!
The Result was fantastic but we did see more clearly that our defence in general is out of sink the rest of our team. I truly believe we only have an average defence with a world class midfield/attack ???
Lets hope in the next 2 markets we can make a few changes to bolster our struggling defensive play.
CTID >
Fernandinho outshines yaya every week but people still rave about yaya as for defence nasty will be back very soon and we will be back to full strength cause lescott was way out of his depth lucky not to concede a penalty when he barged through suarez just inside our box
Agree with your assessment of Lescott; he is a good defender, but he is so uncomfortable on the ball, that he is a liability.
He looks panicked, and it shows. He is too eager to give the ball to somebody wlse, which results in him putting pressure on those he ultimately give it too.
Often passes the buck rather than the ball. He is not good enough for this level.
I think you are all being a bit harsh on Kompany and Lescott, bearing in mind that Suarez hardly had a shot at goal all game! How often does that happen to the PL’s top scorer? They kept him out and both did a good job together against a very good Liverpool attack. They won’t come up against a better attack all season so I think they did ok.
I don’t get all the negativity for Lescott. So he’s not Beckenbauer on the ball. Suarez gravitated to his side as he thought he would gain more opportunities. Lescott does what you expect. He tackles, he clears the ball, he’s a physical presence. He passes the ball to a City team mate.
I thought both full backs played well. The real problem for the defence as a whole was the lack of pressure on the man in possession giving them ample time to pick their head up, look for a run and find the pass. This is the downside to our playing style. YaYa can’t do the defensive side of it to prevent this although when we have the ball he’s world class. Fernandinho was our best player but was unable to stem the tide on his own.
Negredo’s performance had many positives but he was wasteful in front of goal and on any other occasion you’d expect a Premier League goal keeper to save the one that Mignolet let in.
On another day we might have drawn or even lost the game but these are the matches that you have to find a way to win if you want to win the title.
I think it was the way that Negredo hit it that caught Mignolet off guard, I’m sure he was expecting a drive to the corner and not that little outside of the foot flick Negredo loves
Well spotted…..it was negredos technique that fooled the goalkeeper…cant believe that only one poster spotted that
The words ‘howler’ have been often mentioned and I’d have to agree. It was a tame hit from Negredo with neither excessive pace or accuracy on the shot. Ok it might have swerved a bit but if Hart had let that in then we’d all have been horrified.
Lescott was superb yesterday (at least a 7.5) – From my South stand view I thought he bullied Suarez out of the game and did his job perfectly, just as he he did all throughout our Premiership winning campaign. Look at the stats – our win percentage is awesome when he starts alongside Kompany. Nasty has great potential but is still work in progress and makes mistakes which cost us points (see away form at the start of this season and much of last. Give Lescott a break – we’re a much tougher proposition with him in the team than without. And let’s not forget VK makes his share of mistakes too. Come on you blues!
i loved it all.good defense,mid and striking force.Liverpool is a better team and such mentioned errors are espected. cant just wait for palace game today.5 v 0