Manchester City played hosts to Crystal Palace at the Etihad Stadium earlier tonight hoping to win and close the gap to Manchester United at the top of the Premier League table. The home team dominated the game in the first 45 minutes and managed to grab the lead in the 26th minute courtesy of John Stones’ goal which meant that Man City went into the half-time break one goal to the good.
Ilkay Gundogan doubled his team’s advantage just 11 minutes into the second half before Stones found the back of the net again in the 68th minute with a clinical finish from close range. Raheem Sterling put the icing on the cake in the 88th minute when he scored Man City’s fourth goal of the game. The referee blew the full-time whistle soon after as the contest ended with Pep Guardiola’s men securing a dominant 4-0 win at home.
Let’s take a look at how each Man City player fared during the contest versus the Eagles.
GK: Ederson – 6.5/10
The Brazilian keeper was hardly tested during the game and secured an easy clean sheet at the Etihad Stadium. However, he deserves credit for being tidy with his ball-distribution.
RB: Kyle Walker – 6/10
The English full-back didn’t have too much defending to do and had a quiet game in the opposition half. He did well to see out the three points with the clean sheet intact.
CB: John Stones – 8.5/10
He scored two great goals to help his team earn a comfortable win tonight. Defensively, he did not do much wrong in the game and will be quite happy with the shutout.
CB: Ruben Dias – 8/10
Dias bossed the game at the back and did enough to keep Jordan Ayew quiet throughout the 90 minutes. He was often first to the ball and was not shy of clearing his lines when needed.
LB: Oleksandr Zinchenko – 6.5/10
Zinchenko maintained a solid shape in defence but struggled to influence the game going forward.
CM: Kevin De Bruyne – 8/10
The Belgian international ran the show in midfield as he engineered some inviting chances for others around him. He ended the game with an assist to his name for setting up Stones’ opener.
CM: Fernandinho – 7.5/10
Fernandinho did what was asked of him at the centre of the park and helped his teammates cruise to a 4-0 win.
CM: Ilkay Gundogan – 8/10
The German sensation scored a brilliant goal which capped off a fine performance from his team. He seems to have taken his game to another level over the past few weeks, and it showed tonight.
RW: Bernardo Silva – 6/10
He worked hard but never got a sniff at goal. Silva was replaced close to the hour mark.
ST: Gabriel Jesus – 7/10
Jesus was a constant menace for the Palace defenders as he caused all kinds of problems for them during the 90 minutes. However, he will be disappointed for not getting his name on the scoresheet.
LW: Raheem Sterling – 8/10
The English speedster was not afraid to have a strike at goal and gave a good account of himself during the game. He capped off a good performance with a late goal.
Substitutes:
RW: Phil Foden – 6/10
The English playmaker hardly got a sniff at goal.
CM: Joao Cancelo – 6/10
He provided some fresh energy off the bench.
LW: Ferran Torres – 6/10
The Spaniard made one good run during his time on the pitch.
