Preston 0 Manchester City 3 : Player Ratings and MOTM
By David Crook
Manchester City put in a comprehensive and solid performance to come away from Deepdale with a win and passage into the next round of the Carabao Cup. It is now 13 games unbeaten in the competition, the last defeat coming in October 2016.
Preston North End were no push overs in this game and Alex Neil has built a side of powerful running and strength, and consequently there are amongst the front runners in the division at this early stage of the new season. This was a stern test for our young side – offering greater game experience than a million Under 23 matches can muster.
Starting with such a young centre back pairing was a brave move by Pep Guardiola, a manager so ruthlessly and unfairly rubbished by his critics for not giving youth a chance. To couple that with two full backs making their full debut for the club was pretty fearless. But those players all repaid that faith from Guardiola and turned in effective and promising performances.
More from Man City Square
- Rodri believes City can have even more success this season
- Grealish, Stones, and Kovacic will NOT play tomorrow
- My Manchester City UCL Group Stage predictions
- After Injury Guardiola is back in Etihad
- Phil Foden Scores Opener for England Against Scotland
Once the game was won there were some good periods of game management being utilised by City, often keeping Preston moving but they were unable to land any killer punches. Instead they tired, but City seemed happy to operate the second half in a much lower gear, like a training match.
Man City Square review the player performances and give consideration to a Man of the match.
The Defence
Claudio Bravo
Looked solid and unlikely to be beaten, marshalled the troops in front of him pretty well. This is likely to be his last season at City and he looks keen to do his best to add to his career trophy tally. Signed in part because of his ability to move the ball around well with his feet and launch plays from the back and this was demonstrated strongly in this game.
Player Rating 8
Joao Cancelo
Promising debut and he looked confident with the ball and strong in possession. Seemed happy to come inside and pass and pretty speedy when moving forward. Looks like he will be an attacking asset for our side moving forward but unsure as to what he may add defensively on the strength of this performance. More to come.
Player Rating 7
Taylor Harwood-Bellis
Making a first team debut at 17 years of age takes some doing for any team, but managing that at Manchester City with this existing squad is all the more impressive. Looked quick and strong, was confident and assured and looks capable of playing at a higher level. Hope to see him get some more minutes in future games as he looks to be a really exciting prospect in what is our most troublesome position.
Player Rating 9
Eric Garcia
Intelligent and focussed performance from Garcia who also impressed with his range of passing in the game too. His reading of the play and his movement are real strengths and it seems likely he will have a long career at a high level. Unlucky not to get a goal.
Player Rating 9
Angelino
His crossing is a surprise because it is accurate, powerful and whipped in. These will cause difficulty for any top flight team. His link up play was not quite as effective as it could have been, meaning sometimes he was not always in the correct position to unleash crosses. Defensively seems more experienced in role than Zinchenko and on the strength of this performance I would expect to see Angelino playing more in the Premier League before the season is out.
Player Rating 8