Manchester City: Ratings from Turf Moor

Results wise, it wasn’t the best. I think the form we have been in, and the season we have had so far maybe had us all think (players included) that as soon as we went a goal up, that was it. All we had to do was sit back and the result would come.

Of course, that is not the case. Many would point to Raheem Sterlings miss with around twenty minutes to go. Had the Englishman converted then City would have gone 2-0 up, and game won. That may be the case, but even still, that wasn’t the only chance we had. The problem was, once again, City were great going forward, but not so good with converting.

I will deal with that in another piece to be put up very soon. For now, it’s all about player ratings.

Ederson – 9.

Some fantastic saves in the second half in particular. Once again, great distribution from the back, and not a great deal he could do about the goal. Potential save of the season in this game from the Brazilian also.

Walker – 6.

Not up to his usual best going forward. Provided a few crosses but was at fault, in part, for the Burnley goal.

Kompany – 6.

I think, if Laporte plays as well as we saw in the last game, Kompany could be fourth choice. Dealt with high balls over the top well enough, but not much else to note. Maybe it was just because it was his first game back after the latest injury.

Otamendi – 7.

Didn’t get forward as much as he would have liked, but did his job defensively well enough. Lacked the creativity of passing we sometimes have with Stones, and saw in abundance with Laporte.

Danilo – 7.

One of his better performances. Scored a fantastic goal to beat Pope from distance and controlled his side of the field reasonably well.

Fernandinho – 7.

Another decent game from the Brazilian enforcer. He will certainly be one of the players relieved to now have a few days off.

DeBruyne – 8.

Was closed down pretty quickly by the opposition. Still managed a few decent passes but certainly no where near what we have become used to.

Gundogan – 6.

We missed David Silva and Leroy Sane. With Gundogan not having quite the vision of Silva and nowhere near the pace of Sane. He wasn’t as good as we have seen in recent games, but you could argue that was true of a couple of players. Like them, he will come back.

Bernardo – 8.

I actually thought that Bernardo had a decent game. Again, he hasn’t got the pace of Sane, but his control in close quarters is fantastic.

Aguero – 5.

I had said previously that Aguero could be out of a game for most of the half and not do anything. Then he gets that one moment and scores. Against Burnley he did the first part fantastic, but failed to do the second part. Pundits point to Raheem’s miss as the reason City dropped points. However, we had 20 shots, of which only 7 were on target.

Sterling – 5.

Have to mark him down for that miss. It certainly seemed easier to score than to miss but somehow, he managed to do the harder task. Substituted a few minutes after I think he will be one of the players for who this break could be good or bad. If he goes away and gets his mind focused, he’ll come back the player we’ve seen this season. However, if he dwells on the miss, it could be beneficial for him to get back on the pitch quicker than next Saturday.

Next: Predicted Lineup to face Burnley

Diaz (sub on 74) – 6.

Replaced Raheem Sterling a few minutes after that miss. Made some good running and has, once again, shouted his case for continued inclusion in the first team.