Manchester City 3-0 Chelsea - Player Ratings

Manuel Pellegrini’s Manchester City mauled the defending champions Chelsea 3-0 at Etihad. Goals from Sergio Aguero, Vincent Kompany and Fernandinho capped off a sublime display for the Sky Blues. Chelsea on the other hand were in the news for all wrong reasons throughout the week and this reflected on the pitch as well.

The Blues were simply brushed aside by the might of the Citizens. Here are the player ratings from the game.

Manchester City

Joe Hart – 7/10

The England number 1 stood tall whenever the situation demanded. And there were hardly any moments which tested the City’s custodian. He exceptionally blocked off Eden Hazard’s effort when the game was hung in the balance at 1-0.

Bacary Sagna – 7/10

He was solid in defence and did just enough while going forward. He kept Chelsea’s wide-men in check throughout the game. All in all, it was a solid game for the Frenchman.

Vincent Kompany (C) – 8.5/10

The big Belgian seems to have found his best form which saw him become one of the best defenders in Europe. Today he was majestic as he nagged Diego Costa and kept his presence almost non-existent for almost 70 minutes. He was a leader who led from the front.

Eliaquim Mangala – 7.5/10

The second Frenchman in City’s defense played a good sidekick to his captain in the centre defense. He snuffed out most of the incisive passes made by Chelsea’s creative players. He worked well in tandem with Fernandinho and had a good day at the office.

Aleksandr Kolarov – 8/10

The Serbian fullback was at his scintillating best as he bombarded Chelsea from the left flank. He was a constant menace with surging forward runs and was solid defensively as well. He might as well have registered three or four assists had his lethal crosses been converted.

Yaya Toure – 8.5/10

The Ivorian midfield general was in his element today as he singlehandedly outmuscled Chelsea’s midfield. The Etihad saw the vintage Yaya Toure which led them to title just two years ago. It was one of his best performances in recent times in a sky blue shirt.

Fernandinho – 8/10

The Brazilian was the unsung hero of today’s victory. He did all the dirty work as Yaya Toure bombed forward. Fernandinho was reminiscent of his Dynamo Kiev days. He rightfully capped off his day with a well deserved goal.

Jesus Navas – 7/10

The Spaniard was there for a certain reason and he did what was asked of him. He kept the right flank occupied which allowed Sagna to bomb forward. It was his discipline which made City’s right flank even more solid.

David Silva – 8/10

The Spaniard was at his sublime best as he split open Chelsea’s defense almost at will. His first pass of the game was the peach of a through ball which sent Aguero clear towards the goal which was denied by Asmir Begovic. But that pass underlined the rest of the evening David Silva had. He made mockery of Chelsea’s defensive organisation. He reigned supreme, as it blunt as it can get.

Raheem Sterling - 7.5/10

The record English signing had a good home debut as he made quite an impression on Etihad faithful and the Premier League fans on the whole. He slayed Branislav Ivanovic with his raw pace and trickery and was one of the main reasons why Silva and Aguero flourished today.

Sergio Aguero – 9/10

The Argentine is a magician! He was simply exceptional today as he simply pocketed Gary Cahill and John Terry all by himself. If not for some goalkeeping heroics by Begovic he would have sealed his hat-trick within the first 45 minutes of the game.

Subs –

Samir Nasri – 6/10

The French playmaker had a decent impact on the game as he played few key passes in the final third from the right. He drifted inwards at times and was instrumental in Fernandinho’s goal.

Martin Demichellis – 6/10

A defensive change was made to consolidate the two-goal lead paid off as the Argentine did just what the doctor had ordered.

Wilfred Bony – 6/10

The former Swansea man looked lively in the last 15 minutes as he played a few incisive passes against a battered Chelsea defence.

Chelsea

Asmir Begovic - 7/10

He is one of the few Chelsea players who can hold their head high after this humiliating defeat. If not for his crucial saves, Chelsea would’ve been blown away within the first 20 minutes of the game. The Bosnian keeper did well in absence of regular first choice keeper Thibaut Courtois.

Branislav Ivanovic – 4/10

It was Ivanovic’s worst game in a blue shirt by a country-mile. If last week against Swansea was bad, then today was worse. He was put to the sword by Raheem Sterling and the way he was brushed aside by Vincent Kompany during City’s second goal summed up his afternoon.

Gary Cahill – 5/10

It was a forgetful game for the Englishman as he was simply blown away by the magic of Sergio Aguero. His nose injury was the only noteworthy moment of the game. This speaks volumes about his performance in the game.

John Terry (c) – 4/10

The Chelsea veteran was simply unable to cope up with the guile of David Silva and Sergio Aguero. He somehow tried to impose himself in the game but Yaya Toure just never let him and his central defensive partner have any influence on the game. He was rightly substituted at the half time.

Cesar Azpilicueta – 6/10

He was the best Chelsea defender by some distance. When all of his fellow defenders were competing with each other to be the worst of the lot, the Spaniard did considerably well.

Ramires – 5/10

He was deployed in the midfield to give much-needed cover to Ivanovic down the right flank. He failed miserably as he simply couldn’t cope with the pace and power of Kolarov and Sterling. He was replaced by Cuadrado in order to provide some creativity down the right-hand side.

Nemanja Matic - 6/10

He was the best defensive midfielder in the league last season and today he was reduced to nothing but a fallen giant. The combination of David Silva and Yaya Toure was too hot for the Serb to handle as he was bullied by his Ivorian counterpart.

Willian – 6/10

The Brazilian attacker replaced Oscar in the hole due to his work rate. But his lack of creativity let him down as he was never a threat to City’s defense as they effectively shoved him out of the game.

Cesc Fabregas – 5/10

The Spaniard has struggled to kickstart his new season. The impact signing of last season has flattered to deceive more often than not this season. He was outmuscled by City’s burly midfielders and had no answer to Citys’s pace when the ball transition was made. It was a poor game for him by his own lofty standards.

Eden Hazard – 6/10

Last season’s Player of the Year like Fabregas is slow off the blocks. Although he did wake up in around the hour mark but was nowhere near his potential best forget about his imperious self. Like most of his teammates, he too was disappointing.

Diego Costa – 5/10

Awful! This summarizes Costa’s day out in Manchester. He did everything which wasn’t supposed to be done in the first place. His beef with Vincent Kompany did him no favours at all as Kompany simply swept him aside throughout the game. It was an uncharacteristic display by the Spanish forward but he is not the only one to be blamed when all others alongside him were falling like a house of cards.

Subs

Kurt Zouma – 6/10

The young defender did stand up to the daunting task handed to him by his manager. He did quite well to handle Sergio Aguero in second half. It was baffling to see him on the bench in first place after Gary Cahill’s numerous unremarkable displays throughout the preseason and early season.

Juan Cuadrado – 5/10

He was brought on to bring some creativity down the right flank which impotent for most of the game. But he failed there miserably as he wasn’t able to put in even a single decent cross accurately. He was simply pedestrian throughout his stay on field.

Radamel Falcao – 5/10

When was the last time he had an impressive outing on field? Today was no different. Will the real Falcao please stand up?