Reigning Premier League champions Manchester City secured progress into the quarterfinals stage of the FA Cup, after getting the better of Garry Monk’s Sheffield Wednesday side by a 1-0 scoreline. The Citizens struggled to break a disciplined Wednesday defence down in the first half, but a stern half-time team talk from Pep Guardiola seemed to have made quite the impact. The away side came out looking like a different team in the second period, and although they only got one goal, it’s safe to say that the English champions dominated the Owls on the night.
Manchester City Players Rated In Victory Vs Sheffield Wednesday
Claudio Bravo – 6
The veteran shot-stopper was quite literally a spectator for the entire fixture, as the home side didn’t manage a single shot on target over the whole ninety minutes of cup action.
Joao Cancelo – 6.5
The former Juventus full-back didn’t have the expected impact going forward despite the difference in quality between the two sides. Didn’t come into the game too much in the first half.
John Stones – 6.5
The Owls, for all their good work, did next to no attacking all evening, thereby handing John Stones a comfortable fixture at the heart of the defence. Passed the ball around well and looked composed.
Nicolas Otamendi – 6.5
The Argentine centre-half, like his defensive partner, was rarely called into action against a lowly Sheffield Wednesday side. Stepped into midfield areas and looked for the forward pass.
Benjamin Mendy – 7
The speedster had an effective fixture down the left side as most of City’s attacking play was condensed down this flank. Created the Aguero goal, and then struck the bar with a venomous shot.
Bernardo Silva – 7
The diminutive Portuguese dribbler wasn’t able to affect the tie too much in an attacking perspective as he was operating out of the more conservative midfield role in De Bruyne’s absence.
Rodri – 6.5
The Spaniard gave the ball away carelessly on a couple of occasions, but he also made numerous interceptions to make up for his errors. Was the main link between the City lines.
David Silva – 7
The Spanish veteran showcased his quality on multiple occasions with some neat touches and sharp forward passes. Worked hard in the second half after City took control of proceedings.
Riyad Mahrez – 6
The Algerian winger had an ineffective outing down the right flank as the Wednesday defence did quite the job on him. Extremely predictable with his movement and quite selfish in the box.
Sergio Aguero – 7.5
The Argentine striker was marshalled superbly by the Owls’ backline in the first half. Despite this, he did brilliantly creating an inch and taking on the shot that would turn out to be the winner.
Gabriel Jesus – 6
Like Mahrez on the other flank, Jesus struggled to affect the tie and didn’t look like his usual clinical self in the box either. Made some decent forward runs but not quite up to the mark today.
Substitutes
Raheem Sterling – NA
Didn’t have time to make an impact.
