The Manchester City, Guardiola Express continues to roll on. Eighteen wins in the league in a row and eleven away League victories in a row sees Manchester City go fifteen points clear at the top of the League.
It wasn’t a vintage performance from the Blues, but in the grand scheme of things, that doesn’t always matter. At the end of the season, all the record books will show is a clean sheet and another beautiful ‘W’ for City.
But how did the players perform? Here’s my thoughts.
Ederson – 6.
Had a few nervy moments during the game. Tried to usher the ball out in the first half only to give away a corner. Did have decent control of his area with aerial balls and distribution was again good.
Otamendi – 8.
Put his body on the line to stop a certain goal. Lost his defensive partner early on, but looked solid. Also was a danger going forward when it came to set pieces.
Kompany – (Not enough time to rate).
Injured and substituted after 11 minutes.
Walker – 6.
Looked a little tired, and had that slip which led to Otamendi being bundled into the goal in order to save a goal.
Danilo – 7.
Slow start to be honest but at the end of the game he stood up and was a rock on the left. Pulled out of a tackle in the area, which saw Gayle booked for diving.
Fernandinho – 6.
Forced back into the central defensive role early on due to the Kompany injury. Did a good job throughout the game, even if he wasn’t in his familiar role.
DeBruyne – 7.
Shooting from distance and passes not as precise as they usually are. That said, he did put in a superb pass to Sterling, who scored. He doesn’t need to have a good game, just a good moment is al it can take.
Gundogan – 6.
Lucky to still be walking after a horror tackle from the ex Norwich player, Murphy. That was unpunished at the time but could lead to sanctions later. As for Ilkay, he did well in place of David Silva, and made some good forward runs.
Aguero – 5.
Off his game. Missed a handful of chances, hitting the post on occasion. Did put the ball in the net, but was offside. Withdrawn after 77 minutes.
Sterling – 8.
Man of the match and scorer of another winning goal. Grown in confidence since this time last season and continues to show why he was worth the money.
Bernardo -7.
Lively and kept the ball well. Made a good account of himself before being substituted with a few minutes left.
Next: Matchday 20: What Did We Learn About City
Jesus (sub 11 mins) – 7.
Brought on much earlier than he would have anticipated, especially with Kompany being the player coming off. Had some good moments, but looks like he’s forcing his game a little in search of a goal.
Mangala (sub 77 mins) – 6.
Coming on as Newcastle were starting to press for an equalizer. Did quite well, despite wearing a facemask which by the looks of it, had to impact some of his vision. Maybe that helped!
Sane (sub 83 mins) – 6.
Came on to run at a tired defence. Didn’t really have too much time to impact though.