After a 4-2 Premier League defeat to Leicester City, Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City now have 12 points from a possible 27.
GK: Claudio Bravo (4/10) – Joe Hart’s replacement had an awful game – typified by a lackadaisical pass directly out of play midway through the second half. Bravo should have coped better with Andy King’s strike for Leicester’s second goal and looked flustered under impressive Leicester pressure, particularly in the first half.
D: Bacary Sagna (4/10) – The Frenchman’s distribution was poor throughout the encounter and Sagna’s defending did not inspire confidence either. Sagna looked rusty and thoughtless with many of his defensive actions.
D: John Stones (3/10) – The £47.5 million defender was almost religiously obsessed with playing the ball out from the back, regardless of whatever circumstances he found himself in.
Admittedly not helped by Aleksandar Kolarov’s renegade positioning, but this was a poor showing from Stones – who showed minimal leadership and limited ability to organise a back line. Played a blind pass back to Bravo, which Jamie Vardy intercepted to seal his hat trick and put City 4-0 behind.
D: Aleksandar Kolarov (3/10) – Deployed as a central defender but played as a left winger. Kolarov’s lack of positional sense, poor defensive discipline and seemingly apparent individualistic approach to the game was a huge contributing factor to Riyad Mahrez and Jamie Vardy receiving unforgivable amounts of space in the second half. Kolarov’s free-kick consolation goal should not mask the poor display offered by the defender.
RM: Pablo Zabaleta (4/10) – Played at right-back, until just the second minute. The Argentina international appeared confused with his own first half role in Guardiola’s City set-up; and his use of the ball, attacking intent and ability to track runners were all missing.
CM: Fernando (4/10) – The Brazilian just could not find his positional compass against a combative and energetic Leicester midfield. Fernando was poor in possession and offered close to zero much-needed protection for his defenders. Fernando was unrecognisable from any of Guardiola’s traditional deep-lying midfielders.
CM: Ilkay Gundogan (5/10) – The Germany international was ineffective in his attempts to get Guardiola’s midfield on the front foot. Gundogan should have hit the target with a dragged effort just before the hour mark, but offered little more than that. Replaced by Nolito (6/10) for the final 25 minutes, with the 30-year-old Spanish forward converting City’s second goal late on.
LM: Kevin De Bruyne (5/10) – As with Zabaleta, De Bruyne’s position altered early in the game and the Belgium international’s deployment as a left-sided midfielder looked to limit his impact on the match. That being said, when De Bruyne had opportunities to influence the encounter he failed to find his target on numerous occasions, being particularly guilty of several mislaid passes.
AM: Jesus Navas (4/10) – Saw a 50th minute curled effort drift wide, before a largely unremarkable display was curtailed by the arrival of Raheem Sterling (5/10) on 57 minutes.
Navas only has one goal in over 100 appearances for City and one can only imagine if the attacking midfielder has any long-term future under Guardiola.
Sterling, upon his introduction, was not afforded the space that his pace and skill-set requires.
AM: David Silva (5/10) – City’s diminutive ‘number 10’ kept looking for the ball and floated about trying to influence the game. Unfortunately, Silva’s performance was not up to his usual standard and consequently the Spanish international failed to inspire throughout.
FW: Kelechi Iheanacho (5/10) – Had an excellent chance to score, but Iheanacho miscued a headed attempt just after the half time break. Despite City chasing the game and in need of a goal, midfielder Yaya Toure replaced forward Iheanacho after only 57 minutes. Iheanacho was easily handled by the more seasoned pros of Wes Morgan and Robert Huth.
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