Football Features

De Bruyne shines and Pulisic struggles: Every player rated as Man City overcome Chelsea at the Etihad

By Muhammad Butt

Published: 19:37, 23 November 2019 | Updated: 13:33, 27 November 2019

In a low-key evening of football, Manchester City beat Chelsea 2-1 at the Etihad Stadium.

The win saw City leapfrog Chelsea, moving up to third in the Premier League and back to within nine points of Liverpool. Pep Guardiola’s men weren’t at their best but were still comfortably better than a lively Chelsea side.

Here’s how the players rated:

Manchester City

Ederson – 5 – Really poor for Chelsea’s opener. Came out needlessly, providing Kanté the angle he needed to score.

Joao Cancelo – 7 – Positive in attack and solid in defence.

John Stones – 7 – A quietly assured performance from the Englishman. Bodes very well for the future of City’s season.

Fernandinho – 6 – Was a bit ropey on occasion but still handled Chelsea’s attack fairly well, though one wonders if he could have withstood greater pressure.

Benjamin Mendy – 4 – Looked a shadow of his former self. Offered little in attack and brutally owned by Kanté for Chelsea’s opener.

Rodri – 7 – Kept the ball circulating perfectly (97.8% pass accuracy) until he had to go off injured.

Kevin de Bruyne – 8 – Passed it superbly, moved wonderfully between the line and made lots of driving runs to keep City on the front-foot. Scored the equaliser but most of his best work was wasted by his team-mates. He’s the man.

David Silva – 6 – Some nice passes but quite clearly not the force he used to be. Withdrawn with an injury.

Riyad Mahrez – 8 – Raided well, Chelsea couldn’t live with his movement and dribbling. Scored a stunning goal to give City the lead and was such a threat that Lampard adjusted his team to help stifle him.

Raheem Sterling – 6Quiet by his high standards until his stoppage time strike, which was absurdly ruled out by VAR.

Sergio Aguero – 4 – A poor display full of sloppy movement and terrible shooting. Nearly always made the wrong choice. Withdrawn limping with 15 minutes remaining.

Substitutes:

Ilkay Gundogan (for Rodri 52) – 6 – Kept things ticking over.

Phil Foden (for Silva 67) – 6 – Added thrust but no end product.

Gabriel Jesus (for Aguero 77) – 5 – Worked hard.

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Chelsea

Kepa Arrizabalaga – 5 – Could do little about the two City goals but was weak beyond that, handing Aguero an easy chance with a poor pass that he was lucky the Argentine spurned.

Cesar Azpilicueta – 7 – Defended Raheem Sterling so well he was shifted across to shut down Riyad Mahrez, which he did.

Kurt Zouma – 7 – Did well to cope with the waves of pressure heaped upon him.

Fikayo Tomori – 7 – A solid performance until a poor headed clearance have Sterling an opportunity in stoppage time though he was saved by VAR.

Emerson – 4 – Some nice attacking runs but got diced up by Mahrez for City’s second goal. Removed on the hour mark.

Jorginho – 6 – Some nice passes and aggressive play but also showed signs of sloppiness that got punished. His influence waned as the match wore on.

N’Golo Kanté – 7 – A dynamic display from Chelsea’s midfield engine that he capped with a superb run and finish to give Chelsea the lead. Darted in behind the defence and then out-muscled the massive Benjamin Mendy before finishing neatly.

Mateo Kovacic – 7 – Battled hard, winning four tackles, and produced a glorious pass over the top to create Chelsea’s opener.

Willian – 6 – Pulsating in possession, always threatening City with his runs.

Christian Pulisic – 4 – A poor display. Saw little of the ball and did little with it when he did.

Tammy Abraham – 5 – Isolated but battled well when supplied.

Substitutes:

Reece James (for Emerson 59) – 5 – Couldn’t influence the game in an attacking sense.

Michy Batshuayi (for Abraham 73) – 5 – Did nothing.

Mason Mount (for Jorginho 74) – 5 – Couldn’t impact proceedings.