MAN CITY 2 – 1 West Ham – PLAYER RATINGS
2 May
Hart - Spread himself very well to deny Robbie Keane but was largely untested. Distribution very mixed. At times, good and incisive. However, there were a couple of unsure moments when he needs to take more care - 7
Zabaleta - My man of the match. Worked tirelessly down the right, linking up well with Johnson and providing a constant attacking threat. Took his goal well, bringing the ball down nicely from Silva’s chip - 8
Kompany - Not his usual authoritative self. Struggled at times against the physical threat of Demba Ba and looked uncertain. But nothing overly alarming. He will bounce back - 6
Lescott - Better than his central defensive partner, Joleon is really benefitting from a lengthy run in the side. Good in the air, decent in possession, he is making the position his own - 7
Kolarov - Noticeable today how he slowed up the pace of our attacks so often. We move the ball quickly until it gets to Kolarov, who is so one paced. Couple of dodgy defensive moments, crucially when he failed to show any desire to block Ba’s goal. Offered nothing going forward either - 5.5
De Jong - Great to see him finally get on the scoresheet. Picked up an injury in training on Friday so was a risk here, one that I don’t think Mancini should have taken, and he was replaced at half time as a precaution. Solid enough in the middle of the park - 7
Barry - One of his best performances recently. In the first half, showed his passing range, sweeping the ball out wide left to Johnson on a couple of occasions. Touch overrun in the second half, but was a good showing - 7
Y. Touré - At times, when he wants to be, he’s unplayable. But he doesn’t produce these moments often enough for my liking. Supported Balotelli well in the first half before he dropped deeper in the second - 7
A. Johnson - Gets into promising positions but doesn’t often have the end product to match. Put over a couple of decent crosses but we need more from him in games like this. Started brightly but faded - 7
Silva - So controlled in everything he does except for his finishing! Should have buried his 1-on-1 chance, when he dillied and dallied and ended up passing to Balotelli. Otherwise very good - 7.5
Balotelli - His movement up front often goes unnoticed. Constantly on the move and making runs towards goal but rarely picked out. One delicious effort that hit the bar and saw one shot cleared off the line - 7
Subs
Milner - A sign of what he can do in the middle of midfield. I was mightily impressed with how he did when he came on at half time. Passing was good, used his energy and offered us drive from the centre - 7.5
Dzeko - Didn’t get too long but managed to fire two good long-range efforts. First touch was iffy and looked off the pace, but he showed a willingness to get stuck in - 6
Vieira - Again, did his job of protecting the lead - 6
At this moment, Kolarov happen to be our Achilles’ heel unless he tops up his game. Pacy and resilient teams like Everton and Spur tend to punish you for those “dodgy defensive moments” [as mentioned above].
Mancini should leverage Milner in our central midfield during against Everton or Spurs instead of Yaya. He showed great energy [which is needed against Everton]
I agree.
Kolarov is easily the weakest link at the moment.
He turns his back into almost every critical tackle he goes into, as he did against Dembaba.
His first touch is bad and his distribution is dodgy. Often loses possesion for us.
Quite good at crossing and taking corners however.
I’d prefer to see Zabaleta playing at left back when Richards is available again for right back.