Manchester City 2 – 0 Brighton & Hove Albion
Player Ratings
In a match that was controlled by City throughout the contest, patience was key.
It took nearly 70 mins ago for City to score their first goal of the season, but it was coming. The visitors offered next to nothing going forward and frequently would give the ball away moving forward. That’s what led to our first goal, and poor defending gave City the 2-0 lead.
Pep started out with three in the back and the two wing backs he had started with in pre-season, and evidently, it is a practicable option. It definitely was a bit of a frustrating game, but moving forward in the season, our passing and fluidity will improve as you could tell today it was a bit off. Like last season, we will have to get used to teams parking 11 players behind the ball looking to win a point from us. Chances will come, and we will need to finish them, much like Kun did today.
Below I take a look at each individual’s performance in City’s 2-0 victory at the AmEx stadium in Brighton.
Player Ratings
Ederson — 6
A relatively quiet night for the Brazilian. Brighton only had one, maybe two clear cut chances and Ederson did just fine in those. Other than a lack of communication on him coming out early in the second half, he looked solid in distribution and overall keeping.
Danilo — 6
Nothing much to go off of here either. He performed well enough for City fans to still be excited and pleased with his performance; it is truly refreshing to have pace and verve from our full-backs on both sides of the pitch. Danilo did fine in possession bar a couple of giveaways but looked solid and was always looking to create something in Brighton’s third of the pitch.
Vincent Kompany — 6.5
As captain, and leader of the team, Kompany did well enough to lead City to victory today. He did well in stopping most of Brighton’s counters and made some crucial tackles. Kompany looked okay in possession today, misplacing a few passes, but a rather solid performance from the Belgian CB today.
John Stones — 6.5
I was a bit worried having Stones in the middle of the back three, but Stones was efficient in his passing and defending today. He did well to snuff out Brighton’s counter attacks like VK, and was relatively strong in possession. I felt like there was a lack of movement and pace moving forward today so he didn’t have an abundance of options. I forgive him for a couple of misplaced passes. Seems to be continuing to grow and flourishing in a back three.
Nicolas Otamendi — 7
Like his counterparts, he had a good showing defensively and there wasn’t much to worry about with his play. He looked the most confident and solid in possession in my opinion. Again, with more pace and movement off the ball, he could have made more incisive passes and chances. Played some good balls across the pitch for Kyle Walker and KDB.
Fernandinho — 5
Wasn’t impressed with our defensive CM today. In the first half, Fernandinho looked off the pace and just didn’t get the ball in the right place as we normally would expect him or Yaya too. I think Yaya is better suited for the central DM role when we play a back three. His passion was at times off, and he was a bit slow on the ball which gave Brighton an easier job settling in to defend. Looked better in the second half but not sure I would like to see him play again in this formation.
Kyle Walker — 8 (Man of the Match)
An excellent Premier League debut for the citizens. He looked calm and confident in possession and was always willing to bomb forward. He showed off his pace in numerous occasions, taking on Brighton’s left back and playing in some dangerous crosses. Like Danilo, it is really refreshing to have a full-back like Walker on the pitch for us. We should be pleased with what he offered.
David Silva — 7
El Mago looked a bit off the pace today, but was still crucial in our build up play and creating chances for us. There were a couple of beautiful through balls Silva threaded in for Jesus or Aguero in the first half, and Silva was majestic and calm as always in serving up Aguero that through ball which led to our first goal. In combination with KDB, Silva was able to wear down the Brighton midfield. Overall solid performance
Kevin De Bruyne — 7.5
With the team struggling a bit in the first half, Kevin had a hard time impacting the match, but eventually settled in and was important and involved in nearly all our chances. With more space and movement in the second half, he was able to grab a turnover from the midfield and jump-started our counter which led to the goal. Can expect better performances from the Belgian, but overall a solid first match for him.
Gabriel Jesus — 7
Like he did in pre-season, Jesus showed he has more to offer than just goal-poaching. He was important in creating space in the third of the pitch for Aguero et al. by checking back for the ball, and also was effective in his trickery which almost led to our first goal. Can improve on his finishing, but I think it was a promising display from Jesus. A Jesus-Aguero partnership can and will work but it might take some time.
Sergio Aguero — 7
Aguero proved his worth with a lovely finish in the second half to open the scoring, but he was largely quiet in the first half and never was really involved in the build up play — although this was primarily due to Jesus always dropping back. It would be nice to see a combination of the two to confuse opposition defence. Regardless, he was still important and had a hand in most of our opportunities on goal. And like I said before, he was calm and collected with his perfect finish.
Substitutes:
Leroy Sane — 6
Was Pep’s first substitute of the game and it was a long time coming. We needed a change of pace/something different and he definitely offered something moving forward. However, he was largely ineffective in his dribbling and gave up the ball on numerous occasions. Not the greatest first start from the German winger, but I expect him to play an important part moving forward.
Raheem Sterling — 6.5
Sterling entered the fray around the 75-minute mark and looked very bright — like Sane, he offered something different to Jesus (who he came on for). With a very solid pre-season, I expect Sterling to get heavy minutes this season, and definitely has the ability to play off Aguero in this system and also as a traditional winger.
Bernardo Silva — 6
Not too much to go off of here for his first performance. Came on around the 83-minute mark and looked sharp in his passing and movement. The game calmed down when he came in and City wasn’t really looking to score. Regardless, like his name counterpart, he looked calm and confident in possession. Bernardo will be crucial for us moving forward, as this game I could definitely see David Silva’s old age — he was a bit off the pace and isn’t as mobile as he used to be. Bernardo can slot right into this spot and hopefully, we see more from him in the coming games.