Manchester City: How the Players Rated vs Burnley

Hmm…that was not how that was supposed to happen.

I’m struggling not to revert back to my article about the age-old adage of ‘Typical City’, as the result against Burnley was a true encapsulation of Manchester City’s problems if there ever was one.

Two goals to the good, City were frankly tearing Burnley — who had been giving their fair share up until that point — apart, quiet and careful whispers of four, five, or even six came from even the most pessimistic of Man City fans. Alas, the team weren’t feeling quite themselves, and opted — as ever — to go about what should have been a routine win the hard way, by allowing Burnley to score twice and earn a draw.

Yes, Burnley’s first goal was offside, but blaming the referee won’t even reach the surface as to why City threw away two vital points (vital particularly after Chelsea’s draw at Southampton). The team played well for the whole first half, but came out of the dressing room with a palpable air of complacency, and that is exactly why fans and manager alike will be cursing under their breath.

DEFENCE:

Joe Hart: 7 – Like the referee, the goalkeeper is often an easy target when it all goes wrong; fortunately Hart’s great form means many don’t point to him if City give away two goals. Neither goal could be put down to him, especially the second.

Joe Hart wasn’t too troubled by Burnley for long periods, but saw a slight deflection and a bullet beat him in the end.

Pablo Zabaleta: 7 – One of the few Man City players who never has a hint of complacency in him. Head injuries seem to becoming almost bread and butter for Zabaleta, who takes them on the chin (..or head) like a trooper. Deserves the sympathy of Manchester City’s fans as he sometimes sees himself let down by his teammates 0n the determination front.

Eliaquim Mangala: 6 – It’s one of life’s biggest questions: why does Eliquim Mangala perform better against stronger teams than against the league’s lower level opponents? Against Burnley he had one of his worst matches since Hull; he looked far too eager to get a tackle in, leading to foul after foul. I still have faith in him, as all it takes is for him to calm down a bit.

Martin Demichelis: 7.5 – A funny turn of events has led last year’s clumsy pantomime villain to become a calming presence. I can’t imagine how Mangala would do without another inexperienced center back, given how he is with an old wise man like Demichelis.

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Aleks Kolarov: 6.5 – Was unusually sloppy in the delivery stakes, and not so unusually sloppy when getting back.

MIDFIELD:

Fernando: 6.5 – Like Mangala, he’s a little too eager to jump in, and got himself a yellow, which never bodes well for the rest of his performance as he becomes timid and unlikely to go for challenges. Was caught out when Burnley broke as well.

Fernandinho: 7.5 – A little pace in the midfield will never go amiss when Danny Ings leads the opposition frontline. Fernandinho was able to get forward a bit more with Fernando behind, which put him in the position to pull off a sublime long range strike — he deserved it.

Fernandinho’s great performance in the midfield was rewarded with a top drawer goal.

Jesus Navas: 6 – Wasn’t the worst, as he really flustered former City man Ben Mee with his pace. As usual, his end product lacked, but troubled the Burnley defense nonetheless.

Samir Nasri: 7 – Along with David Silva, Samir was the player most likely to carve out an assist against stern competition like Burnley. Played his part in Silva’s well worked goal too.

David Silva: 7.5 – Even when his excellent performance began to trough, he was still City’s best attacker. In the first half Silva was always probing and patient, whereas towards the end he was palpably more frustrated, yet that first half was still enough to make his match — as a whole — pretty good.

David Silva has been a goalscoring epiphany since Sergio Aguero was injured against Everton.

James Milner: 7 – Milner’s gut-busting West Brom game obviously had its effect on him, but he still tried his best, as per usual.

SUBSTITUTES:

Frank Lampard: 6

Stevan Jovetic: 6

Scott Sinclair: N/A –

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