MAN CITY 0 – 1 Liverpool – PLAYER RATINGS
12 Jan
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Hart - Kept us in the tie with his string of superb first-half stops. Without a settled spine in the team, it was imperative he rose to the challenge and he did just that. Concentration improving - 8.5
Richards - Captain for the day and was one of our brightest sparks. Full of pace and power when he bombed forward although his ambition was a touch limited in the second half when we went to three at the back - 7.5
Savic - Looked nervy in the opening half hour or so when he was rolled by Carroll and then conceded the penalty but he did improve after that and I don’t think he was as poor as has been generally made out - 5.5
Lescott - Struggled early on as Liverpool pressed high up but grew into the game and found himself with more time on the ball than usual in the second half. Advanced occasionally though lacks the ability in possession to create anything - 6
Clichy - Managed to cope well with the threat of Bellamy and was one of our most useful attacking outlets in the second half. Managed to get into some promising crossing positions, but until Dzeko came on, was short of targets in the middle. Switched to right wingback late in the game and did well - 7
De Jong - Looks more one-dimensional with every game. Still wins the odd tackle in midfield but when in possession, it’s alarming just how insipid he is. Constantly passes the ball backwards to the defence or sideways when he needs to be more positive - 5
Barry - Having been suspended for the Manchester derby on Sunday, he looked rusty early on, misplacing his passes and wasting possession. Did improve as the game went on and was busy in the second half although unable to make the breakthrough - 6
Milner - Started on the left, had a spell at right wingback and finished in the centre of midfield. Gave another all-action display and was the only outfield player in the first half who seemed up for the challenge - 7
A. Johnson - Plenty of fans got on his back early on, unfairly I felt, when they wanted him to run at Glen Johnson despite having his back to goal on the halfway line. However, this was another game in which AJ failed to make any impact from the start. Involved more in the second half when he moved infield but was replaced by Dzeko - 6
Balotelli - Was clearly rushed back from injury too early and never looked up for the battle. Just one of those days for Mario - 5
Aguero - Deprived of any quality service with City resorting to hitting aerial balls, which Skrtel and Agger naturally enjoyed. Worked hard but should have done better with a couple of chances, especially when played in by Kelly’s terrible backpass - 6
Subs
Nasri - With Silva, Balotelli and Yaya missing by the time he came on, the onus was on him to be the creator but despite wanting to be on the ball at all times, he didn’t have the incisiveness in his passing to cause Liverpool problems. Plenty of neat touches but not enough penetration. Again - 6
Džeko - Another one who was completely starved of service which was a shame as his height out to have been beneficial. Found himself on the end of one cross but couldn’t get his shot away - 6
Kolarov - A totally abject substitute appearance in which he shot wildly from 40 yards, wasted a couple of freekicks and gave the ball away repeatedly - 4
With every game, Kolarov and AJ seem less and less promising.
You’ve been one of YaYa sternest critics – often wildly unfairly – but I bet you’re missing him now, you slag.
you know what? That comment of yours Abdullah is really quite rude. I do not believe that you are in any position to call VFAB a slag, that is a completely unfounded accusation.
Abdullah I ,myself, am and have been one of the sternest Yaya supporters. You need to keep in mind that this is a blog and much like you and me others are entitled to their own opinions no matter how unfair it may sound to you or others. Your calling the blogger a slag is uncalled for and not appropriate
I appreciate your comment Siamack…we often disagree over Yaya…infact we always do and its nice to know you dont shoot me down as you realise everyone had an opinion
it’s a real shame about de jong but he seems to have sulked since losing his place. agree about the insipid passing and the ability to be the defence’s shield has diminished. go with barry and milner for now but barry is not going to be able to keep up the good form so i do feel NdJ will still be important in the run-in
I’d also go Micah in the middle with Zaba out right, for now
R u kidding? Nasri probably did one of his best performances, back here in sweden all everyone can talk about except for the referee’s, was the brilliant display by Samir Nasri!!
Allthough I am not saticfied with him, it’s hard for him, with Toure Silva Aguero and Balo, Nasri can’t get enough of the ball, he’s better when the offence relies on him, when he is the main creator. Like this game, but ofcourse we need yaya and silva back.
P.S Without Kompany, I’m affraid we can kiss this season goodbye…
Was hoping before the match that Micah would move into the middle to partner Lescott and that Zabba would play on the right. I believe that Savic has a future at city just that he’s not quite up to it yet. Kolerov has no place in the team, perhaps a bid for Abidal wouldn’t be such a bad idea after all.
Ive not read this article yet but hope youve given good marks to Clichy, Richards and in particular Nasri after youve been critical of him as I thought they shone out. I’ll comment when ive read it….
Ive read it and am disappointed. Clichy was better than you make out, as was Richards. Both of them were completely dominating in their displays, especially Clichy who looked like the new Zaba ending up right wing! However I am particularly annoyed with your Nasri verdict. Had he not come on then there would have been no-one leading us on, no-one willing to run at defenders and no-one passing and moving the ball as quickly as he did. lest not forget his delightful corner (far better than any silva corners) which set up the chance for Richards. Think you have been unfair, Nasri worked his socks off and was the only midfielder who pushed forward and looked up for it.
One thing i shall also mention is your voodoo against Kolarov. In every other blog players coming on that late get a “no time to mark” score but because of your personal vendetta against him youve decided to give him a 4. ALL WE ASK FOR IS CONSISTENCY IN REFEREES SO BE CONSISTENT IN YOUR BLOG. p.s I am not defending Kolarov though, he wasnt great but does not merit a mark.
Re Kolarov: although he wasn’t on for too long, he certainly made an impact. Unfortunately, it was a very negative one. His first touch was an appallingly overhit freekick from a dangerous position, thus wasting a great opportunity.
He also wasted a couple of corners and shot wildly over from around 40 yards when he ought to have passed or crossed. In addition, he lost possession a couple of times, so although most of the time I’d say ‘no time to mark’, Kolarov was totally abject and deserved his rating.
Absolutely rubbish. So when Kolo comes on and doesnt touch the ball for 15 minutes he gets a ‘no time to mark’ when he doesnt get in the game – when kolarov tries to get in the game and tries to get a goal back (we all know what his long range efforts can do) he gets lambasted? Makes no sense whatsoever. As for his freekicks, we should always have someone on the far post anyway and everyone ran in too early, it is clear to see from the reply. Im not defending his overall performance just defending his utterly ridiculous rating of 4 when all he tried to do was add impetus to an attack.
I don’t say this often, but I agree with VFAB here. Aleks has shown SOME attacking threat since arriving, but his defending abilities are completely nonexistent. I will admit, his free kick got us a point against Napoli, but a completely abject display defending (the job that he is paid to do), negated the positive effect that he had on the game. Similarly, against United, he scored the goal which really brought the game to life again, but his inability to cope with any winger with pace means that he is a liability.
OK ‘GCYAMH’, fair enough, I can agree with him trying to get a goal to bring us back into the game – indeed, something that he has done several times this season. However, the majority of these attempts (Liverpool and Villarreal spring to mind immediately), he takes the chance on himself when there is a player in a better position than himself that he then ignores – Liverpool, Dzeko was 1 on 1 with Skrtel (a battle that he has the physicality to win), Villarreal he shot from an acute angle to the near post when Agüero (I think) was free in the middle.
He does bring something to the party, that being the ability to knock players out with a strike of his left foot, but if he cannot do the job which he is paid to do, what is the point of playing him at all?
A defender should be able to defend first and foremost. And one thing that Kolarov lacks is defending. He is an absolute liability when he defends. Most of his crosses are way off and the only thing that is decent is his free kicks. If it is me, he does not even deserve to sit on the bench as reserves. I am passed my prime but still able to send crosses way better than Kolarov!
He needs to take a page from Ivanovic, His abilities are more like Kolarov but he plays much smarter against any sort of winger/attacker.
I believe Kolarov has it in himself to up his game and I do hope he does it sooner than later
My comment was deleted…unimpressed