The Midfield
Rodri
Seemed to make every touch count. His passing was important and he kept the rhythm of the team up beat and positive throughout the whole match. Both his tackling and his general breaking up of play was good. His vision seems to be improving with each game and he looks like he has always been part of our squad. Needs to concentrate upon receiving the ball on the half turn and releasing the play as those transitions are not up to the Fernandinho standard. Hoping to see him back in the goals again soon and maybe even marking the near post for set pieces!
Player Rating 9
Kevin De Bruyne
We need to start with the positives. The running and pressing which De Bruyne was doing from the front was lung busting and exemplary. This gave us the momentum as a team to cause problems amidst the Shakhtar unit. This is the most consistent and hardest running Kevin has done since his return from a serious knee injury and that bodes well. His game was not quite on top form though. At his best, his passing radar is unique and he can use “The Force” to sense a pass, but today his radar was a little off – just a beat or two and consequently much of his passing was off kilter when it mattered most. The same was true of his shooting. When he gets into key positions he seems determined to put in the perfect shot when sometimes he just needs to hit it anyhow.
Player Rating 7
Ilkay Gundogan
Gundogan is a classy player when all his moves come together and he has the ability to create mayhem with his passing and movement. Against Shakhtar he was excellent, undoing the opposition at every twist and turn and was also unlucky not to add to his goal tally. I thought this was his best Champions League performance since his brace against Barcelona some 3 seasons ago. It could be that the quality of the attacking third in the opposition and the pace of this game both suited him but nevertheless it was a great performance.
Player Rating 9