MAN CITY 1 – 2 CSKA Moscow – PLAYER RATINGS
6 Nov
Hart - Clichy’s atrocious error for the second goal means that Hart has escaped some criticism, but he’ll be disappointed to be beaten by a shot that crept in on his near side - 6
Zabaleta - His worst game in a long time. Defensively shaky, his positioning for CSKA’s winner was questionable and he offered very little moving forward. A backheel in his own half that conceded possession aptly summed up his evening - 4
Kompany - Carried away by the recklessness of his teammates and by the anger towards the referee, and he seemed on the verge of snapping at the officials. Made a series of vital interceptions and powerful blocks at the back to prevent a total embarrassment - 6
Demichelis - On nights like these, when all around him are losing his plot, he at least displayed some of his experience by keeping his cool and getting on with the game. Troubled at times by CSKA’s pace on the break but he was one of City’s best performers, even if that doesn’t say a great deal - 6
Clichy - So impressive in the derby at the weekend, he was simply abysmal last night. Quick to get forward, but his passing was diabolical and it was as if he were running in treacle when he tried to get back. Culpable for the second goal - 4
Fernando - Made numerous sliding challenges after the break which at least showed some aggression and fight, but his passing is far too limited to enable him to play as one of a midfield two against good sides - 6
Y. Touré - His stupid, brainless shove that earned him a red card typified the players’ lack of discipline last night. An excellent free-kick atoned for his abject marking for CSKA’s opener, but so much of his play was ponderous. When he injected pace to attacks he caused problems, but he seemed far too happy to operate at a laboured tempo - 4
Navas - Very little impact on proceedings, despite seeing a fair amount of the ball. Although blessed with extreme pace, he must be very easy to play against. Show him inside and he’ll end up passing the ball back to Demichelis due to a lack of a left foot - 5
Milner - Unlike so many of his colleagues, at least he showed some passion and heart. Admittedly, not a lot came off for him and his touch in the final third was uncharacteristically poor, but the willingness to battle is the minimum that should be on show. Milner could teach the others a thing or two - 6
Jovetic - I desperately want to like Jovetic, but nights like yesterday make it extremely tough. His passing was shocking, constantly giving the ball away just as we looked to build something. Fond of trying an eye-catching flick when a simple pass would suffice, he was fortunate to last until half-time - 3
Aguero - Probably City’s best player on the day. A threat when the ball was at his feet, he tried to be direct and run at the CSKA backline, and he caused them a few troubles. Lacked any support around him - 6
Subs
Fernandinho - Injected some energy to our play when he was on the pitch, but that wasn’t for very long. He’s having a nightmare of a season so far - 5
Nasri - Doesn’t have the character of a Silva. Happy to play pretty passes but not incisive ones - 5
Dzeko - Offered very little. For someone who can be an aerial threat, he shows a marked lack of interest in pulling to the back post and providing an option. Spends plenty of time looking at his shoelaces - 5
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