Manchester City: Player Ratings in Derby defeat to United

Manchester City succumbed to more Derby misery as United grabbed a deserved 2-0 win at Old Trafford for their third win over Pep Guardiola’s men this season.

While this match in the grand scheme of things meant very little toward the outcome of Manchester City’s season, losing to local rivals United for the third time this season remains a serious disappointment.

With the title gone, City entered this match with the desire to play spoiler to United’s Champions League hopes but seriously missed Kevin de Bruyne. United created nearly every significant chance of the match, but the one they managed to score came off an apparent dive from Bruno Fernandes before a creative free kick and goalkeeping error from Ederson allowed Anthony Martial to seal the victory.

Defense

Ederson (GK): One of the Brazilian’s shakiest showings in recent memory. Beaten poorly at the near post for United’s opener before a wayward touch nearly allowed Martial to double United’s advantage, culminating in a dismal throw that gave United’s second in garbage time. (3.5)

João Cancelo (RB): City’s best defender on the day, showing off pace, dribbling, and technical ability going forward, but couldn’t find the final product. (6.5)

Fernandinho (CB): The converted midfielder was not at his best and allowed several chances as City fell again to their local rivals. (5.5)

Nicolás Otamendi (CB): Extremely lucky not to give away a penalty on Fred, and was beaten by James on multiple occasions. (5.5)

Oleksandr Zinchenko (LB): Multiple dangerous giveaways and was absolutely skinned by Aaron Wan-Bissaka and James down the right flank in a performance to forget before being subbed. With Benjamin Mendy in his best form of the season, the Ukranian should not feature in the biggest games at the moment. (4.5)

Midfield

Rodri (CDM): Failed to keep control of midfield in the first half, but not a terrible performance from the Spaniard. (6)

Phil Foden (CAM): In the absence of City’s star man Kevin de Bruyne, their brightest youngster got the start in the Derby in the same fluid right-wing role that won him Man of the Match against Aston Villa in the Carabao Cup Final. This time, however, he was kept on the periphery of the game without a real chance to make an impact. (5.5)

İlkay Gündoğan (CAM): Technically good and picked some incisive passes, but the midfield stagnated for much of the match. (6.5)

Attack

Bernardo Silva (RW): Dropped into midfield for much of the first half but couldn’t find the creative spark that has seen him score in two of his previous four Manchester Derby appearances. (6)

Sergio Agüero (ST): Failed to find a significant chance until he managed to put the ball into David de Gea’s net, but he was ruled marginally offside. (6)

Raheem Sterling (LW): A truly poor performance in what’s becoming a troubling season for the usually-prolific winger, and his duck against United continues. (5.5)

Substitutes

Riyad Mahrez (RW): Gave United serious problems straight from his introduction, and given the form of some of his competition, should be starting nearly every match. (7)

Gabriel Jesus (ST): Had one of the best shots on De Gea’s goal of the evening, and made a far greater impact than Agüero in terms of the quality of play. (6.5)

Benjamin Mendy (LB): I have serious doubts that Pep Guardiola wanted to make a change at left-back while chasing the game, but the Frenchman came on and was much better than Zinchenko. (6)