MAN CITY 2 – 3 Manchester United – PLAYER RATINGS
8 Aug
Hart - Couldn’t do anything about any of the three goals, but was otherwise untested. Distribution better than normal - 6
Richards - Lucky to be on the pitch after horrific studs-up lunge, but generally coped well. Bombed forward as much as possible but very lazy in getting back - 6.5
Kompany - Until the error, was in solid form. Reads the game so well, but then made the key mistake. He won’t make it again - 6
Lescott - Solid defensively and made a couple of timely interventions, but desperately poor in possession. Looked very nervous on the ball and gave it away cheaply far too often - 6
Kolarov - Poor distribution again going forward and wasted a couple of corners. Doesn’t exactly convey a confident vibe at the back either. When Clichy is fully fit, I expect Kolarov will drop to the bench - 6
De Jong - Improved as the game went on, when he put in some good sliding challenges, but when United pressed in the second half, we needed De Jong to get a foothold in the game. He didn’t, and thus we were under pressure - 6
Milner - Full of energy and running and he was arguably our best midfielder. Has jumped ahead of Barry, it seems, in the pecking order - 6.5
Y. Touré - Not as productive an afternoon as his two recent visits to Wembley! Struggle to impose himself on the game although he looked more of a threat in the second half when pushed further forward - 6
Silva - Started brightly, but failed to stamp his authority on the game in the second half. All our creative output lies in his hands, and he will need help as the season progresses - 6.5
Balotelli - Nothing too much of note which is a rarity for Balo. A couple of neat touches but not enough sustained impact. Taken off early - 5.5
Džeko - Still adapting to the pace of the game but some of his hold-up play towards the latter stages of the game was impressive. A touch gangly, but he knows what he’s doing. The goal should give him confidence - 6
Subs
Barry – We looked more secure when Barry came on. Possesses good tactical nous, often filling in for others when they go forward. Faces a battle to displace Milner in the team - 6
A. Johnson - One good run and shot but otherwise very little - 6
Clichy - Surprisingly named on the bench but I think he’ll start against Swansea. Involved in the mix-up with Kompany at the end - 6
Kompany, like Richard Dunne and Sun Ji Hi before him, makes one big error every match. Sometimes we get a way with it, sometimes we don’t.
That’s a lot of 6′s you’ve handed out there.
Balotelli was totally anonymous on Sunday. Silva and Lescott were omnipresent.
last season, the week before the fa cup final we got rinsed at liverpool, we lost one game after that (to everton, doesnt count) to end 3rd in the league.
i reckon that spurred them on, made them realise what was needed and they accomplished. i hope this will provide the needed kick start to the season, enabling city to win the games that should be won and get off to a great start.
blue moon rising
The benefit City gets from this loss exceeds far more than the benefit City would have gotten had they won the game. It servers as a wake up call that summer tour is over.
Kolarov seems more of a liability with every passing game, he should be put behind Clichy and our utility die hard man Zabalata. It is time for this rose bud to blossom and live up to his price tag!
Whenever we’re up against a team that puts pressure on the ball, we crumble, and we just can’t seem to put pressure on the opposition when we don’t have the ball, players like Balotelli and Yaya aren’t built for that kind of game and we should be looking at replacements. Yaya is immense driving forward with the ball at his feet, but when he has a second or two to think and try pick a pass, he’s hopeless. David Silva is crying out for a playmaker partner next to him as is the rest of the team al la Benarbia/Berkovic, hopefully Nasri can fill that space.
We need to be looking at Barcelona as a blueprint of how to play football, granted we don’t have the likes of Messi or Iniesta, but it’s not about individuals with Barca, is about playing for the team, and how they act when they don’t have the ball, it’s press, press, press, and when they do have the ball it’s a simple, controlled pass then move to create space, EVERYONE in their team does this, and when they get into the finally third of the pitch, THEN you have the flash of brilliance from the forward line, whenever they have the ball, there always seems a pass on because of the movement of the other players, when they don’t have the ball, they press the opposition into making a mistake, not sitting back and trying to absorb the pressure like we try doing when we go 1 up, that’s how they raped the Rags at Wembley in the Champs league final, and that’s how the play their football, week in week out and that’s how we should be looking to play our football, because to be honest we have enough players to be able to adapt that kind of game, so let’s friggin use it.
Impressed by Dzecko again, hope he continues to start. Think you have been harsh on Lescott and I hope your right about Milner’s place in the pecking order as well as Clichy. I did not think that persuing Nasri would be a good idea with his ego and all but it does look like he may be exactly what we need for a creative partner to go along with Silva.
Let’s face it, none of the players deserve more than the 6.5 you gave them. We are quite new to this kind of start to the season and for all the world we looked like we were. That said, these players gave me the best season I have had as a city fan in 30 odd years by using games like Sunday’s as a springboard for sucess, they will do this season. Keep the faith!