Manchester City faced off against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge earlier this evening hoping to pick up a positive result away from home. The Mancunian outfit made a bright start to the game and took the lead in the 18th minute courtesy of Ilkay Gundogan’s goal. Phil Foden doubled Man City’s advantage just three minutes later when he found the back of the net. Kevin De Bruyne put daylight between the two teams when he scored in 34th minute to kill the game off before half-time.
Pep Guardiola’s men defended well in the second 45 minutes but ended up conceding a late goal when Callum Hudson-Odoi scored in injury-time with a powerful finish from a tight angle. The contest finished with Man City securing a comfortable 3-1 victory away at West London which moved them to the fifth spot in the Premier League standings.
Let’s take a look at how each Man City player performed during the match against the Blues.
GK: Zach Steffen – 6/10
Steffen hardly had anything to do in the game but won’t be happy after conceding a late goal which extinguished his hopes for a clean sheet.
RB: Joao Cancelo – 7/10
The Portuguese full-back was strong in the air and didn’t do much wrong on the defensive end of the field. He also created a couple of decent chances for his teammates to score.
CB: John Stones – 6.5/10
Stones kept a good defensive shape at the back and did enough to keep Timo Werner quiet throughout the 90 minutes.
CB: Ruben Dias – 7.5/10
The Portuguese defensive ace was a commanding presence inside his half as he made some crucial interceptions and last-ditch blocks to help his team cruise to a dominant win away from home.
LB: Oleksandr Zinchenko – 6.5/10
Zinchenko performed his defensive duties well when called into action. However, he didn’t have any influence in the final third besides attempting a shot at goal.
CM: Rodri – 8/10
The Spaniard bossed the game in midfield and was quite effective at keeping the Chelsea attackers frustrated during the game. Guardiola will be over the moon with his performance today.
CM: Ilkay Gundogan – 8.5/10
The German talent was a real threat with his late runs from midfield and was the one who opened the goal-scoring when he found the back of the net in the 18th minute.
LW: Phil Foden – 8.5/10
The English youngster was a constant menace for the Chelsea defenders and created several openings for his teammates around him. He ended the game with a goal and an assist to his name.
CAM: Kevin De Bruyne – 9/10
De Bruyne was back at his best this evening as he ran the show for his team in the opposition half. It was a welcome return to goal-scoring from open play for him. He even bagged an assist in the first half.
ST: Raheem Sterling – 7.5/10
The English speedster made some dangerous runs with the ball and opened up the Chelsea defence on a couple of occasions. Sterling will be disappointed for not scoring himself but at least he has got an assist to show for his efforts.
RW: Bernardo Silva – 7/10
The Portuguese attacker was not shy of having a shot at goal and engineered a couple of inviting opportunities for his teammates.
Substitutes:
CM: Fernandinho – 6/10
Fernandinho provided some energy to the Man City midfield.
RW: Riyad Mahrez – N/A
He hardly had any time to make an impact.
ST: Sergio Aguero – N/A
The Argentine striker didn’t get enough minutes to warrant a rating.
