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Man City vs Man United Player Ratings
Man City
Joe Hart - 7
The England international hardly had a save to make but instilled confidence in his backline when coming out to deal with crosses, and got his side on the front foot with his penetrating throws.
Pablo Zabaleta - 8.5
A real contender for man-of-the-match. The Argentinean never stopped running and got in behind Patrice Evra on numerous occasions. He also defended superbly all evening long, and was a real standout for the hosts.
Vincent Kompany - 8
The City captain led by example, keeping a cool head for most of the game, and putting it to good use when he nodded home the winner just before the break.
Joleon Lescott - 7
Lescott was slightly overshadowed by the outstanding performances his fellow defenders put in, but he still did well to provide cover at the back.
Gael Clichy - 7.5
For a player who has long been ridiculed for his defensive ineptitude, Clichy did surprisingly well against United and hardly gave Nani a sniff in the first half.
The French international also got forward whenever possible, and delivered a couple of dangerous balls into the box.
Samir Nasri (off 93') - 8
Should City go on to win the league, Nasri would be vindicated in his decision to leave Arsenal last summer in pursuit of silverware.
The tricky winger gave Evra a real nightmare down the flank, and always looked to create an opening for the Citizens. Nonetheless, he really should have put the game to bed late on when he took too long to shot after receiving the ball inside the box with plenty of time and space.
Gareth Barry - 7.5
A typical tidy display from the City anchorman, who hardly misplaced a pass all evening long.
Yaya Toure - 8
Does this man ever get tired? It certainly didn't seem so on Monday evening as he covered every blade of grass on the Etihad turf.
Toure put City on the front foot with his driving runs from midfield and was almost impossible to win the ball off.
David Silva (off 82') - 7
Silva wasn't at his best against United but he did create a number of openings early on when the game was still very open.
At the moment, there doesn't not seem to a more creative passer of the ball in the Premier League, and that certainly showed when he whipped in a pin-point cross onto the head of Kompany for the City winner.
Sergio Aguero - 6.5
The Argentina international was City's most active forward but wasted a number of half chances. He appeared indecisive at times, although his pressure on the United backline helped City's cause.
Perhaps he was trying too hard to impress, especially with his father-in-law, Diego Maradona, watching from the stands.
Carlos Tevez (off 68') - 6.5
Tevez started the game fairly well and displayed plenty of energy, but he eventually faded away and was replaced by De Jong midway through the second period.
Subs
Nigel de Jong (on 68') - 6.5
Apart from a needless yellow picked up for a late challenge on Welbeck, De Jong did the role that was asked of him when he came on - to badger the nearest United player into giving up possession.
Micah Richards (on 82') - N/A
Richards was brought on with eight minutes remaining to shore up the City defence, but didn't really have much to do with United lacking a cutting edge up front.
James Milner (on 93') - N/A
Milner was brought on in injury-time and played a crucial role in running the clock down. |
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