Manchester City 4 Brighton 0 Player Ratings and MOTM
By David Crook
The Attack
Raheem Sterling
In the opening period Sterling looked focussed and was a willing runner into space, creating space for others too. There were periods though where the play broke down between him and Zinchenko and sometimes the checking back was not as thorough as Guardiola usually demands. Sterling seemed to stop his running in the belief the ball would not be released to him in time. As the game went on, Sterling looked leggy and I hope he is not over used during the International break by England. This was the second game in a row where the impact of Sterling had been muted.
Player Rating 6
Sergio Aguero
Two goals and an assist does not tell the whole story about his performance in the game against Brighton. Aguero ran and ran, chasing down the passing and possession based game of the opposition. He moved into space as soon as City had the ball and always created options with his movement and intelligence. The goals were moments of sheer brilliance. He takes the ball so well in his stride, controls and moves it at pace and strikes the ball so well. His second goal, where he jinked past defenders with a drop of the shoulder was almost reminiscent of his famous 93:20 goal which won the title back in 2012.
Player Rating 9
Riyad Mahrez
Another great performance by Mahrez who opened up and expanded the play throughout the game. Linked well with Walker and had the making of the Brighton defence at all times. Needs to run at defences a bit more for me to really cause problems rather than looking to cross all the time. Still, his back heel created a goal today and he went close himself on one occasion too. Looking forward to seeing more of Mahrez in the coming weeks.
Player Rating 8