Manchester City locked horns with Aston Villa at Villa Park earlier tonight as they looked to secure a favourable result on the road. The Mancunian giants made a strong start to the contest and scored the opening goal in the 27th minute courtesy of Ruben Dias’ curled effort. Bernardo Silva doubled Man City’s lead in the 43rd minute with a fantastic volley as Pep Guardiola’s men went into the half-time interval with a healthy two-goal advantage.
Ollie Watkins got a goal back for the West Midlands outfit just two minutes into the second half. However, Man City hung on to their narrow advantage and secured a hard-fought 2-1 away victory in the Premier League.
Let’s take a look at how each Man City player performed during the contest against the Villans.
GK: Ederson – 6.5/10
The Brazilian keeper made two good saves during the game but there was no clean sheet for him tonight.
RB: Joao Cancelo – 6.5/10
He made one important clearance and was also quite lively going forward.
CB: Ruben Dias – 8/10
Dias cleared his lines when needed and made two crucial interceptions at the back. He opened the goal-scoring for Man City with a good strike in the first half.
CB: Nathan Ake – 6/10
The Man City centre-back kept a good defensive shape inside his half and was very accurate with his passing.
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LB: Oleksandr Zinchenko – 7/10
He performed his defensive duties well and put in a good display in the opposition half.
CM: Fernandinho – 6.5/10
The veteran midfielder made a couple of clearances but failed to influence the game in the final third.
CM: Rodri – 7/10
He anchored the midfield with a lot of conviction and had a couple of shot attempts.
CM: Bernardo Silva – 7.5/10
The Portugal international had a few lively moments in the attacking end of the field and scored one of the goals of the season with a brilliant volley in the 43rd minute.
RW: Riyad Mahrez – 7/10
Mahrez created some decent chances for his teammates to score but was a bit wasteful in front of the opposition goal.
ST: Gabriel Jesus – 8/10
The Brazilian striker made a few impressive runs with the ball and engineered multiple goal-scoring opportunities for others around him. He has got an assist to show for his efforts.
LW: Raheem Sterling – 7.5/10
Sterling orchestrated a few meaningful openings for his teammates and ended the game with an assist to his name.
Substitutes:
LW: Jack Grealish – N/A
He hardly had any time to make an impact.
