Manchester City played hosts to Southampton at the Etihad Stadium earlier this evening as they looked to secure a positive result at home. The Mancunian giants made a bright start to the contest as Kevin De Bruyne gave his side the lead in the 15th minute. However, James Ward-Prowse equalised for the Saints from the penalty spot just ten minutes later. In the 40th minute, Riyad Mahrez found the back of the net before Ilkay Gundogan added another goal to ensure that Man City went into the half-time break 3-1 up on the scoreline.
It was Mahrez who scored again for the home side in the 55th minute, but the Saints got a goal back through Che Adams’ effort. Kevin De Bruyne put the icing on the cake when he completed his brace just three minutes later as Man City cruised to a 5-2 victory at the Etihad.
Let’s take a look at how each Man City player fared during the clash against the Saints.
GK: Ederson – 6.5/10
The Brazilian keeper made some important saves and distributed possession relatively well from the back. However, he won’t be happy after letting in two goals this evening.
RB: Kyle Walker – 7/10
Walker made a couple of clearances during the game and was also lively in the Southampton half.
CB: Ruben Dias – 6.5/10
The Portuguese centre-half cleared his lines when required and even won the ball back on a couple of occasions. However, he will be disappointed after failing to keep a clean sheet in both halves.
CB: Aymeric Laporte – 5.5/10
Laporte struggled to give a good account of himself and was far from convincing with his efforts at the heart of Pep Guardiola’s defence.
LB: Oleksandr Zinchenko – 7.5/10
He was defensively solid and even managed to create some decent chances in the final third. Zinchenko also made a few darting runs down the left flank.
CM: Kevin De Bruyne – 8.5/10
The Belgian international was back at his best this evening and scored two goals which will do his confidence a world of good.
CM: Fernandinho – 6.5/10
The Brazilian midfield ace mopped up the danger well inside his half and engineered one good chance in the attacking third.
CM: Ilkay Gundogan – 8.5/10
The German playmaker caused all kinds of problems for the Saints defenders and got his deserved goal in the first half injury-time.
RW: Riyad Mahrez – 9.5/10
Mahrez was simply unstoppable during his time on the field and scored two important goals on either side of the half-time break to give his team a convincing victory at home.
ST: Bernardo Silva – 7/10
He did well to fill in as a makeshift centre-forward but has got no goals or assists to show for his efforts.
LW: Phil Foden – 8.5/10
The English youngster was a constant menace for the Saints defenders and picked up two good assists during the 90 minutes.
Substitutes:
RW: Ferran Torres – 6/10
He had a couple of shots but didn’t do enough to get his name on the scoresheet.
ST: Sergio Aguero – 6/10
The Argentine striker didn’t get too many chances to find the back of the net.
LB: Benjamin Mendy – 6/10
He offered very little after coming off the bench.
