Manchester City vs Manchester United: Player Ratings

As the Manchester Derby took place between the two mega teams from the same city, the Etihad stadium witnessed a goalless draw which was eventually not short of action, drama, and controversy.

With Mourinho visiting with clear intentions of drawing the match after fielding a side missing key players due to injury, it was a solid defence vs attack display throughout the 90 minutes, which in the end, produced a result that keeps both the clubs in a good spot to finish in the top 4.

Here are the player ratings from the City vs United match:

Manchester City

Claudio Bravo – 7
Almost a spectator throughout the match, the keeper was good with his hands and feet when called upon, and did his bit to keep a clean sheet effectively before being stretchered off with an injury in the second half.

Pablo Zabaleta – 8
Up with the task of facing Martial, the veteran brought his A game to the pitch last night after not allowing the winger any time and space throughout, and also supporting fellow teammates in consecutive City attacks.

Vincent Kompany – 8
With United focusing on defence, the city captain had a relatively easier match than he would have expected. A rock at the back as usual, helping his team keep a clean sheet.

Nicolas Otamendi – 7
Beaten a couple times by Rashford’s pace and skills, the defender still managed to keep up with the United pressure whenever asked to do so, and seemed to have a good coordination with his skipper at the back.

A. Kolarov – 7
Played at left-back after a long time, and with the task of dealing with Henrikh Mkhitaryan, he had a night full of pretty smooth sailing.

Fernandinho – 7
Good in breaking up the opposition play, and kept the game fluent and moving with quick and short thoughtful passes.

Yaya Toure – 6

With United backing off and defending deep, Toure could have capitalised and gambled more, but played a safe match, and despite doing nothing wrong, he wasn’t really effective in the attacking half either.

Raheem Sterling – 7
A good game with some dribbles and quick passing, but no finishing product in the attacking third to trouble the visitors’ defence.

Kevin De Bruyne – 7.5
Had the responsibility of being the creative genius on the pitch in David Silva’s absence, and through glimpses and a few moments, managed to do that. He also produced one magical run with beautiful dribbles which almost led to a City goal.

Leroy Sane -6.5
Could have done way more, but didn’t seem to turn up on the night when most needed.

Sergio Aguero – 8.5
Probably the home side’s best player. Came close to scoring after hitting the post and was a constant menace in the opposition’s penalty area.

Substitutes:

Willy Caballero – 8
Replaced the injured Bravo in the last 10 minutes and filled in well to keep a clean sheet.

Jesus Navas – 7
Came in to replace Raheem Sterling to inject further pace and delivery into the box, but wasn’t really able to do so with great effect.

Gabriel Jesus – 8
The fans loved to see their star striker back on the pitch, and he almost instantly delivered with a goal, before being flagged offside for his effort.

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Manchester United

David De Gea – 8
Good saves, strong hands, and confident with his feet, the Spaniard was at his best again as he inched towards the golden glove top spot.

Antonio Valencia – 8
As steady as they come, he kept Sane out of the danger area and stopped anything productive coming in from the left side of City’s attack.

Eric Bailly – 8.5
As emasculate as one can be, the defender is turning into a star for the Red Devils, and with performances like last night against an all out attacking City side, one can imagine why.

Daley Blind – 7
Slotting in well at center-back, and despite being troubled by Aguero now and then, he filled in well for the injured Rojo.

Matteo Darmian – 6.5
Did well against the pace and ability of Sterling and later Navas, but always seems slightly out of position, which is understandable as he is a right-footed right-back.

Ander Herrera – 7.5
Good interceptions, strong tackles, and a fierce competitor in the center of the park, the Spaniard was at his best yet again.

Michael Carrick – 7
Assigned to mark KDB, the captain stuck to his task well, and despite the difference in age and pace, seemed to keep up with whatever the Belgian had to offer.

Marouane Fellaini – 4
A night the Belgian would want to forget as soon as possible. After putting in solid performances in recent weeks and playing a good match for a long time yesterday, the player lost his senses as he tackled with Aguero twice in 19 seconds before head butting the striker, leading to a red card. Left his side in trouble for the last 10 minutes.

Anthony Martial – 6
The winger was not given his free licence to run at the defense last night, but put in a good shift for Mourinho in his own half as he kept things tight to ensure a minimum point for his side.

Marcus Rashford – 7.5
A couple of mazy runs and a moment of brilliance against Otamendi saw Rashford keep his fine form of late intact, but sadly, could not find a way into the back of the net yesterday.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan – 6

Nothing much on offer from the Armenian last night. A decent performance though to earn his side a vital away point.

Substitutes:

Timothy Fosu Mensah – 6
Came on in the dying minutes after replacing Mkhitaryan, who was sacrificed for the sending off of Fellaini. The lad put in a good quick shift to ensure things stayed tight in the back, and no points were dropped in the dying moments.

Jesse Lingard – 5
No real spark from the English winger yesterday, nothing on display.

Ashley Young – 6
Came on in the dying minutes to ensure United saw the match through and waste a little more time.

 

Written by Vikram Gupta. Tweet to get in touch with him.