Manchester City faced off against Manchester United at Old Trafford earlier tonight hoping to secure a win and seal a place in the final of the EFL Cup. Both teams fought tooth and nail in the first 45 minutes but struggled to break each other down as they went into the half-time break all level on the scoreline.
Man City made a dream start to the second 45 minutes as John Stones gave his team the lead in the 50th minute when he scored from close range. In the 83rd minute, Fernandinho put daylight between the two teams as he scored with a brilliant volley from the edge of the penalty area. The match finished with Pep Guardiola’s men earning an impressive 2-0 win which ensured their fourth straight League cup final appearance.
Let’s take a look at how each Man City player fared during the match against Man United.
GK: Zack Steffen – 7/10
The Man City keeper was a tidy distributor of the ball and made a couple of saves to secure a clean sheet away at Old Trafford.
CB: John Stones – 8.5/10
Stones kept a good defensive shape at the back and made some important clearances to get over the line with the clean sheet intact. He also opened the scoring with his goal from point-blank range.
CB: Ruben Dias – 8/10
The Man City centre-back was a commanding presence inside his half and put his foot through the ball whenever his team was in danger of getting caught out in defence. Guardiola will be quite happy with his performance tonight.
CB: Oleksandr Zinchenko – 7/10
He did well to fill in as a makeshift centre-half and stood up to the challenge quite well. He did enough to keep Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial quiet during the 90 minutes.
RM: Raheem Sterling – 7/10
The English speedster tracked back to defend inside his half when needed and was a constant menace in the final third as well. He created a couple of decent openings for others around him and was a joy to watch down the right flank.
CM: Ilkay Gundogan – 7/10
Gundogan earned possession back for his team quite a few times during the game but struggled to be creative with his passing in the Man United half.
CM: Fernandinho – 8/10
The Brazilian midfield ace made some crucial defensive contributions and scored with an outstanding volley in the latter stages of the game.
CM: Joao Cancelo – 7/10
Cancelo worked hard to help out his teammates on the defensive end of the field and also had a couple of shots at goal. It was an impressive performance from him as a makeshift central midfielder.
LM: Phil Foden – 6.5/10
The English youngster played a crucial role in the lead-up to John Stones’ opener. However, he didn’t do much else during the game.
ST: Kevin De Bruyne – 8/10
The Belgian international caused a lot of problems for the Man United defenders while playing as a makeshift striker. However, he won’t be happy after failing to register a goal tonight.
ST: Riyad Mahrez – 7/10
The Algerian attacker looked sharp and enjoyed the freedom of playing as a forward, but he didn’t do enough to get himself a goal.
Substitutes:
CM: Rodri – 6/10
He did well to come off the bench to see out the win.
