City player ratings: Aguero’s hot streak continues in victory over Stoke
By Blake Gundy
Manchester City’s first away match in the Premier League under Pep Guardiola was a intriguing affair at Stoke City’s ever windy Britannia Stadium. Thanks to braces from Aguero and substitute Nolito, Manchester City made it two wins from two to start the Premier League campaign. Here are City player ratings.
Willy Caballero
Caballero started his third successive game of the season over Joe Hart and showed just why Manchester City are pursing Claudio Bravo. Caballero didn’t have to make too many saves apart from a close range range volley from Phil Bardsley which he did well to keep out. But in a Guardiola side, the distribution from the goalkeeper is extremely important, and Caballero fell short on Saturday. Caballero completed just 58% of his passes against Stoke. Although it was clear Caballero was trying very hard to build from the back, he often found it difficult, as recorded in these City player ratings, and Bravo will be a notable upgrade if he does join.
6.5/10
Pablo Zabaleta
Zabaleta started after Sagna failed to overcome his small injury problem and showed why Guardiola was happy to not add an extra right back to the squad over the summer. Zabaleta was solid as always and often drifted towards the center of the pitch when Stones or Otamendi were on the ball. The so called ‘inverted full-backs’ were not as evident against Stoke as they were against Sunderland, but Zabaleta still often found himself in central areas. He got a lot further forward than Sagna when the Frenchman played against Sunderland, which meant he got caught a couple of times in the first-half out of position for some Stoke City counter-attacks. However, Zabaleta barely made a mistake on the ball and did a good enough job defending the ever threatening Arnautovic.
7/10
Nicolas Otamendi
Otamendi was simply superb, passing the ball well, winning an impressive 7 headers won and defending well enough to deserve a clean-sheet. Stones and Otamendi worked well as a partnership, Otamendi did his best to match the calmness of Stones on the ball and launch the attack. Guardiola will have a headache when Kompany returns from injury as Otamendi and Stones have both proven themselves very capable in this system.
8/10
John Stones
Stones has started all three of Manchester City’s opening fixtures and he has looked integral to the way the team plays in all of them. He boasted an impressive 93% pass completion rate and these weren’t just sideways passes either. Often Stones would pass through the Stoke City midfield to try to launch an attack. When he had no passing options Stones would run into space rather than boot it long to Aguero, and this certainly helped Manchester City keep control of the ball and the game.
8/10
Aleksandar Kolarov
Kolarov has been a surprising beneficiary of Guardiola’s arrival, as he has started all three matches. Unlike Zabaleta, Kolarov almost never ventured into central midfield during the game, instead preferring to run down the line like a more traditional full-back. Kolarov was comfortable on the ball but didn’t have much defending to do and should have given away a penalty for his uncalled foul in the box on Joe Allen.
7/10
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Fernandinho
Fernandinho is going to be a very crucial player for City this season, just as he was last season. He again would again often drop between Stones and Otamendi and helped them build from the back. Fernandinho was important in breaking up Stoke City’s counter-attacks, making three tackles. A typical performance from Fernandinho, he will hope to be rested against Bucharest because he’s proving how crucial he is for City in the first three games.
8/10
David Siva
The Magician put in a good performance at Stoke, drifting between the lines and driving Manchester City forward. He wasn’t at his best, not involved in any of the goals and was unusually selfish when he chose to shoot from a tight angle rather than squaring it for Sterling who was in the middle. However, his close dribbling and excellent passing helped City keep control of the match.
7/10
Kevin De Bruyne
De Bruyne doesn’t seem to have adapted as quickly as Silva to Guardiola’s system but today still played well. He provided the assist for Aguero’s header with a beautifully delivered free kick after Navas was fouled on the right hand side. De Bruyne put in a lot of effort closing down Stoke’s defenders, which often led to forced long balls and regained City possession. As he adapts to Guardiola’s methods, he will become a dangerous player this season.
7.5/10
Jesus Navas
Navas had two stand-out moments in this game, one where he got fouled which lead to the free-kick which resulted in Aguero’s headed goal. The other was his tracking back during a Stoke City counter-attack. It was a performance very similar to how he played under Pellegrini and you suspect Navas will get limited playing time once Sane returns from injury.
6.5/10
Raheem Sterling
Another excellent performance from Sterling. He was very direct and again put pressure on Stoke’s defenders with his closing down. Sterling won a team high four tackles and showed how determined he is to have a much better season than last season. Sterling did gave away a penalty on Ryan Shawcross which was converted by Bojan Krkic, but it was a very harsh call and seemed like a make-up call for the penalty Mike Dean didn’t call on Kolarov. If the amount of contact Sterling had with Shawcross is deemed a penalty, then we will see multiple penalties every game. However, it was Sterling selflessness which ended the game as he squared for Nolito to score Manchester City’s fourth goal in the dying minutes of the game.
8/10
Sergio Aguero
Six goals in three games with two missed penalties, Aguero might want to practice his penalties, as it seems like he might take a lot this season. City have been awarded four penalties in just the first three games. Aguero was dangerous against Stoke and showed why he is still the best striker in the Premier League. Aguero showed great courage to take the penalty despite missing two mid-week and it was a great penalty too. His header from De Bruyne’s free kick showed that he can score in many different ways despite being one of the smallest guys on the pitch. Another excellent performance from the Argentine.
9/10
Substitutes
Nolito
Nolito was surprisingly on the bench after an impressive first two games in Manchester City colors. He came on in the 68th minute and showed just how much of a bargain his £13.8m signing is. His two goals were both tap-ins but he had to be in the right place at the right time and the goals finished the match as a contest. Nolito has already scored more goals for Manchester City (3) than Jesus Navas has scored in the last two seasons (2).
8/10
Kelechi Iheanacho
Kelechi was superb when he came on in the 82nd minute, showing why he has moved ahead of Bony in the pecking order. His calmness when he rounded the keeper to wait and pick out a pass was beyond his years and gave an easy tap-in which Nolito was never going to miss. Iheanacho’s awareness to leave the ball while drawing two defenders out of position set up a 2-on-1 with Sterling and Nolito against the goalkeeper. It was always going to only have one result. Overall, a great impact substitution that sealed the game.
8.5/10
Next: FIFA 17 ratings: A critical comparison between United, City players
Fabian Delph
Didn’t have much time to anything but played some nice passes while he was on the pitch. He will be looking to get involved more in the future after a strong pre-season. However, that looks unlikely given how good Fernandinho, Silva and De Bruyne have looked.
6/10