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Report Card: Grading Manchester City’s defenders so far

By Nicholas Paccione

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 05: Sergio Aguero of Manchester City celebrates after scoring a goal to make it 1-0 during the Premier League match between Manchester City and Middlesbrough at Etihad Stadium on November 5, 2016 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images)
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 05: Sergio Aguero of Manchester City celebrates after scoring a goal to make it 1-0 during the Premier League match between Manchester City and Middlesbrough at Etihad Stadium on November 5, 2016 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images) /
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At the beginning of the season, Manchester City’s defenders were a cause for concern and three months into the season, there are still issues aplenty.

Manchester City come into this round of international games sitting in third place in the Premier League table. Right on the heels of Liverpool and Chelsea, City are still very much in contention for both the Premier League title and qualification in the Champions League. The focus on this article is to analyze and  grade each City defender so far this season.

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So far this season, Manchester City have deployed many different formations, sometimes with three, sometimes with four at the back. No matter the formation, certain players have been preferred. Meanwhile, others have been relegated to substitute roles. City have ten defenders currently on the first team, with two players. Mangala and Denayer are out on loan at Valencia and Sunderland respectively. Of the defenders City have available, the most consistent names on the team sheet have been Aleksandar Kolarov, Nicolas Otamendi, and John Stones. Considering Stones was bought only a week before the season began and Kolarov seemed destined for transfer, that truly speaks volumes to the job Pep Guardiola has done so far.

Youngsters Angelino, Tosin Adarabioyo, and Pablo Maffeo have all featured too little times to really grade so this space will be for them. Angelino and Tosin have barely featured at all this year, in fact Angelino’s only start was more forward than a traditional left back. Maffeo on the other hand will be fresh in Cityzen’s minds for his excellent performance against Manchester United in the EFL Cup. City supporters will be excited to see the growth of these young defenders under Guardiola.

Now, let’s get to the more featured defenders for Manchester City so far this season.