Player Ratings: Manchester City vs. Everton

Manchester City 2-0 Everton(Mario Balotelli, James Milner)

Manchester City

Joe Hart (6) : Had nothing much to do as Everton spent their time defending. Kept out all three shots that the Toffees had on target.

Micah Richards (6) : Combined well with Nasri on the right flank. Went missing in the second half and spent his time defending.

Vincent Kompany (7) : Another convincing performance from the sturdy Belgian defender.

Joleon Lescott (6.5) : Put in a decent performance against his former club. Combined well with Kompany and provided aerial threat from the corners.

Gael Clichy (6) : Came forward well but looked clueless once reaching the final third. Was never really put under pressure while defending but justified his selection ahead of Kolarov.

Yaya Toure (6) : Was cautioned in the 30th minute for a tackle on Seamus Coleman and spent the remaining match passing the ball around.

Gareth Barry (7) : Held City’s midfield together while managing to go forward. Had a shot on target from distance.

David Silva (7.5) : Was a target of numerous Everton tackles. Wriggled around the Everton defenders before eventually providing an assist to James Milner after controlling a misplaced pass from Royston Drenthe.

Samir Nasri (6) : The Frenchman had a quite game and failed to deliver his trademark pin-point crosses into the box. Was eventually replaced as City tried to held on their lead.

Sergio Aguero (7) : Clearly City’s best man on the pitch once again. Looked lively from the word go. Had a few shots on target and was a continuous threat to the Everton backline with his composed play.

Edin Dzeko (5.5) : Looked ineffective for the 60-odd-minutes he was on the pitch. Had a few shots but none convincing. Was eventually replaced by Mario Balotelli.

SUBSTITUTES:

Mario Balotelli (8) : The Italian supersub made an immediate impact on the match and scored after just 6 minutes of coming on.

James Milner (6.5) : Replaced Sergio Aguero with Roberto Mancini keeping an eye on the midweek Champions League match against Bayern Munich. Scored after a Royston Drenthe handed the ball to David Silva.

Stefan Savic (6) : Came on for Samir Nasri in the dying stages of the match as City looked content to defend their one goal lead. Cleared a Fellaini attempt off the line to ensure that City keep a clean sheet.

Everton

Tim Howard (7) : Had nothing much to do in the first half except warding off an effort from Sergio Aguero in the 35th minute. Was involved once again to held on to Barry’s long range effort. Had a busier second half and made a few important saves including the long range curler from Nasri. Could do nothing about the deflected shot that led to City’s opener.

Tony Hibbert (6) : Was made to work hard on the right flank. Spent much of his time defending against a potent City frontline.

Phil Jagielka (6.5) : A decent outing for the England international. Looked solid in the first half. But soon got frustrated as City went ahead. The late tackle on Balotelli was an evidence of that.

Sylvain Distin (7) : The sturdy defender had a busy afternoon against Sergio Aguero. Stuck to the basics and cleared everything that City threw at him.

Leighton Baines (6.5) : A trademark performance from the former Wigan man. Attacked and defended with equal prowess.

Seamus Coleman (6.5) : Ran his socks off on the flank. Chased everything that was delivered in his direction. Failed to provide a killing cross.

Phil Neville (6.5) : The former Manchester United man was constantly booed by the City crowd. Could have been sent off early on for hand-ball just after bringing down Silva. Looked tired as the game went on.

Marouane Fellaini (7) : Played the “David Silva” role for Everton and was all around the pitch. Tackled and dispossessed his opponents on a few occasions. Needs to work on finishing though.

Jack Rodwell (7.5) : His enormous potential was on display once again as the youngster reveled in his role to man-to-man mark David Silva. Earned himself a yellow in the 20th minute for a 50-50 challenge on Silva. Had a decent outing overall.

Leon Osman (6) : Booked in the 28th minute for stopping Micah Richards in his stride. Registered Everton’s first shot on target in the 50th minute. Looked good in patches.

Tim Cahill (6) : The Australian hasn’t been amongst goals for quite some time now and his outing against City was cut short by an injury. Looked a lone figure on his own upfront. Moyes needs to sort out his attacking options!

SUBSTITUTIONS:

Louis Saha (6) : Returned to the team after a much publicized twitter outburst at Moyes’ team selection. Replaced an injured Cahill and had an uneventful outing.

Royston Drenthe (5) : Was the culprit of sending in a loose ball that was controlled by Silva to provide an assist for Milner’s first premier league goal for City.

Vellios (6) : Came on in the late stages of the match and couldn’t make much impact on the game.