Manchester City faced off against FC Schalke 04 at the VELTINS-Arena earlier tonight looking to get a positive result on the night. The Citizens began the match on the front foot and took the lead in the 18th minute courtesy of Sergio Aguero’s goal. However, the home team responded brilliantly and got themselves back into the game via Nabil Bentaleb’s spot-kick. Domenico Tedesco’s men turned the match on its head just before half-time when they scored another goal from the penalty spot through Bentaleb’s neat finish.
However, the visitors refused to give up in the second half and got themselves back into the game through Leroy Sane’s world-class freekick from long range. Pep Guardiola’s side were not done as they ended up scoring the winner through Raheem Sterling’s delicate finish in the last minute of the contest. The match ended with a final scoreline of 3-2 in favour of the Citizens.
Let’s take a look at how each Man City player performed during the game against Schalke.
GK: Ederson – 7/10
The Brazilian didn’t have much to do during the encounter, but he was pretty accurate with his distribution. He got a brilliant assist in the dying embers of this match when he set up Sterling with a long ball as the Englishman broke away and scored the winning goal of the game.
Ederson ended up conceding two goals from the penalty spot which shouldn’t bother him too much.
RB: Kyle Walker – 6/10
The England international did his defensive duties but lacked the cutting edge going forward.
CB: Fernandinho – 6/10
The Brazilian battled hard in midfield but lacked creativity in the opposition half.
CB: Nicolás Otamendi – 4/10
The Argentine veteran gave away the penalty when he handled the ball inside the Schalke penalty area. He also got his marching orders in the second half which left his teammates with a mountain to climb.
LB: Aymeric Laporte – 7.5/10
He passed the ball well and commanded his half with a lot of authority and endeavour. Laporte was by far the most impressive defensive player on the pitch tonight
CM: IIkay Gündogan – 7/10
The German talent retained possession well for his side and created some glorious chances for his teammates during the game.
CM: Kevin De Bruyne – 6/10
The Belgian international is getting better with each match after recently coming back from his injury.
CM: David Silva – 7.5/10
The Spaniard looked classy in midfield and showed some neat touches in and around the Schalke penalty box.
RM: Bernardo Silva – 6/10
The Portuguese winger was woeful with his finishing which left him frustrated during the encounter.
ST: Sergio Agüero – 6.5/10
The Argentine striker did well to pounce on a mistake and give his team the lead. However, he was not able to make an impact during the remainder of the match.
LM: Raheem Sterling – 7.5/10
The English speedster ended up scoring in the last minute to give his team a solid one-goal lead going into the second leg.
Substitutes:
CB: Vincent Kompany – 6/10
The Belgian centre-back defended well under challenging circumstances after coming off the bench.
LM: Leroy Sane – 9/10
The German executed his long-range free-kick to perfection as he struck the ball with outstanding power and precision to beat Ralf Fahrmann. He was a complete game changer after coming on for the final quarter of the contest.
LB: Oleksandr Zinchenko – N/A
Not enough time to make an impact.
