Manchester City travelled to West Brom at the weekend looking to extend their lead at the top of the table. City did face some pressure from Manchester United, who beat Spurs earlier today meaning they were just two points behind City when the kicked off.
City started the game with almost the same 11 that beat Burnley last weekend. The only change was Gabriel Jesus coming in for Sergio Aguero.
Manchester City, as excepted, dominated the first the could have had three and barely gave West Brom a look in. It was only one fluke, over the top, ball from West Brom that saw them get back into the game.
The second half saw much of the same with City dominating and West Brom doing very little, it finished 3-2 at the end. Here are the Manchester City player ratings from their win over West Brom.
Ederson: 5/10
Ederson didn’t have the greatest start to the game. He could have done much better with Rodriguez’s goal and with Phillips goal.
He did have a quiet rest of the game were he was not really tested. Overall, he didn’t do great with West Brom’s only two real big chance of the game.
Kyle Walker: 7.5/10
Walker had a solid first half for the Blues. He did well defensively and put a number of good crosses into the West Brom box.
The right-back started off the second half well weaving in and out of the West Brom defence and eventually shooting wide.
Walker then played a great cross to Sterling on 64 minutes who slotted home for City’s 3rd. Walker’s overall display was solid going forwards and backwards.
John Stones: 6/10
John Stone should have done better with Barry’s over the top ball to prevent Rodriguez from scoring.
Stones made a good interception on 27 minutes to stop Rondon being through on goal. Today wasn’t the best game for Stones. But the result will hide that fact
Nicolas Otamendi: 6/10
Otamendi made a great tackle on 24 minutes to prevent Rondon from breaking through. The Argentinean made another solid tackle on 61 minutes to stop West Brom getting through again.
He did however put in a very bad tackle on 70 minutes which saw him earn a yellow card. He was also at fault for West Brom’s second goal.
Fabien Delph: 6.5/10
Delph should have done better closing down a West Brom attacker on 41 minutes who put a good ball into the City box for Rondon, who should have scored.
Delph had a quiet game. But he did very little wrong.
Fernandinho: 8/10
Fernandinho started off positively and played a great ball to Sane who slotted home for City’s first.
He then made it 2-1 to Man City as he fired past Foster to give City the lead again. The Brazilian controlled the first half very well with his passing and he deserves a lot more credit than he gets.
Bernardo Silva: 5/10
Silva did well to win a City free kick on 40 minutes. However, he had a very quiet game and was subbed off on 60 minutes. Not a great game from the Portuguese international.
David Silva: 7/10
Silva got on the end of a KDB cross on 25 minutes. He was in acres of space and had pretty much a free header. But he headed over. He should have done lots better.
Silva played a good ball to Walker on 64 minutes who set up Sterling for the third. The Spaniard also found himself in the six-yard box with the ball in the 86th minute. He turned well and got a shot off but Forster made a good save. Overall Silva made some good passes today but he probably should have scored at least one.
Kevin De Bruyne: 6.5/10
De Bruyne put a good cross into the box on 36 minutes but David Silva was unable to connect with the cross.
The midfielder then had a long shot on 43 minutes, which he smashed well over. He then took a City free kick from a decent position on 51 minutes. But he hit the wall. De Bruyne had another long shot on 55 minutes. And once again he hit over.
His passing was much better than his shooting today though as he played a great ball to Sane on 72 minutes. But the German was unable to control it properly.
Sterling played a great ball to KDB on 83 minutes who was in a great position. However, he shot wide, an awful shot. De Bruyne’s shooting boots were certainly missing today and its a game he will probably not want to watch back.
Leroy Sane: 9/10
Sane’s excellent form continued into this game as he opened the scoring for City on 10 minutes with an excellent finish.
Five minutes later Sane has involved again as he assisted City’s second to make it 2-1.
The German international took a City free kick on 40 minutes which he should have done better with. He also should have done better on 72 minutes when De Bruyne played a great through ball to him. A great first half for Sane followed by a slightly average second half. He was still probably City’s best player today though.
Gabriel Jesus: 4/10
Jesus had a very poor first 45 minutes for Manchester City. He barely touched the ball and didn’t cause West Brom any real problem.
Jesus’s poor game continued into the second half as he was booked on 60 minutes for a bad reaction. Jesus was then played through on 74 minutes, his touch let him down though.
Jesus was finally taken off on 82 minutes after a less than average game.
Substitutes
Raheem Sterling (60 minutes): 7.5/10
Sterling made an almost impact when he came on. He burst into the box and tapped home a Walker cross. He also set KDB up but the Belgium shot well wide.
Overall, Sterling was a solid sub and put in a much better shift than Bernardo Silva.
Ilkay Gundogan (82 minutes): 4/10
Gundogan did very little in the short time he was on the pitch.