Niall McDonald hands out the marks
Adrian: Several fine saves and very vocal. Amazingly booked for a late foul and not for what was a quite wonderful display of time-wasting from minute one 9
Zabaleta: Ceremonial skipper for the day Rearguard action suited his mobility 7
Rice: Given task of marking Aguero and played really well, especially after being booked on 16 mins 8
Ogbonna: Left totally unmarked for his goal. No risks taken 7
Cresswell: Comfortable as one of three central defenders. Offset two poor crosses with a beauty for the goal 7
Obiang: Massive improvement – quicker and more combative 8
Fernandes: Surprise selection was justified 7
Kouyate: Great aerial work, especially flick ons from Adrian’s clearances. Left just before the break with a hamstring strain 8
Masuaku: Looks to be a mainstay on the left wing now 7
Lanzini: An extremely and disciplined effort for 70 mins 7
Antonio: Inches away from an early goal. Supreme effort given his lack of match fitness 7
Subs
Sakho: Looked rusty but won the crucial corner. Just wide with a golden chance in the last minute 7
Arnautovic: Pretty enthusiastic in defence by his standards and one brilliant counter attack nearly got us a point 6
Ayew: On for Antonio with 2 mins to go No rating
Lots of positives, to be fair to Moyes he set the team up well. I criticised his selection before hand but he proved me wrong. I thought Adrian was immense, our number 1. The back 5 were well drilled. I thought Cresswell was poor but that’s just me. Adrian and Rice should start next game. I thought Fernandez and Obiang were poor. Obiang at fault for their second. Delighted with Lanzini and Antonio. Sakho was very rusty but Moyes should start him against Chelsea play 3-5-2.
Pretty much agree with your ratings, although everyone gets 7 or more from me. Stand outs ? Adrian, Ogbonna, Rice, Sakho, Antonio. How come we can perform so well against the best team in the league (with a weakened team) & yet throw the towel in against much weaker opposition. The team can hold it’s head up , but what will happen in the next game ? I expected another heavy defeat. I was wrong,but now I expect this sort of commitment against Chelsea & Arsenal (& every other team). Will I get it ?
I think Adrian makes a bigg difference he lead well helped rise Organised. I have said before I think the defense feel more comfortable with him back there.
Guttted to no get a point. Delph dive then has the nerve to say we played 11 behind the ball. No contact was made by Rice. Then Adrian stops free kick but leads to goal. If he gets a yellow like Smith at Bournemouth then diff game.
Kouyate was great too & if he stays on & Sakho comes on for Antonio in 60m diff game. Kouayte was defending.
Def positives but had we won which could have we played a full 90 w a depleted squud & injuries. Deserved at least a point.
I hope this is a turning point.
And maybe it just took Moyes some time everyone was baffled but his starting 11 but it worked…
Huge improvement today against most lethal attack in the premiership.Now what we need is this every week and not the Jekyll and Hyde team we seem to have.Surely Adrian,Rice and Sakho will Start against Chelsea.Only Rustiness stopped Sakho getting that equaliser.Time to give him a run.Hope this is the start of something better COYI.
Sorry but got to call it as I see it, and young Rice should never have been aught out by a ball travelling 30 Yards plus over his head and into Silva. Yes he is as good as any centre back we have, yes he should start every week, but he should have got something on that ball into our six yard box. Even .Moyes said as much.
Zabs isn’t good enough any longer at this level and can’t see where he gets 7.
Rest look about right.
That was his 1st match starting in PL as CB at 18 and he had to cover for Zab some too & won some good tackles. He will get better with more games.
Also I think that early yellow made him Kore cautious also that ridiculous Foul called which was a dive by Delph.
I think that threw him of some. But he was very good & first half Exceptional. Keep playing him w Adrian as well & he will learn more but he was unlucky w yellow so early then Otamnedi does the same. So yes made some mistakes but like u say w Zab not being good enough (I think he is good defender but cant keep up) he covered for him a lot.
About Rice; that just highlights why young players don’t often get in a Premiere side. I’m satisfied he will learn and be a great player by the end of the season.
Every player on the pitch played their part in this performance. The ratings above are fair. Moyes seems capable of getting a decent level of performance from the team but also from the more dubious individuals too. If he can keep the improvements coming, we have some chance. Defensive strength is the basis of everything, and we certainly showed enough of it here.
As already said here we need to do this every game.
Honestly we played a team w 1 player worth more then our squad. £300m pkua team have one of best attacks in Europe & best in PL for years.
And I think the whole team preformed well & we deserved at the least a point.
Guys, we cannot park the bus every match, especially at home. We have to replicate this solidarity at the back but build a more attacking threat. Imagine the fans reaction if we deployed these tactics at home?
Huddersfield and Southampton have just done the same to City as we did. So I’m more cautious. I still see far more that’s wrong than right.
Hart has been really poor i really think he could and should have saved a third of all goals let in this season. Adrian sensational today. Be true to your words Mr Moyes and play the best man for the job! Well done Declan. Much better commitment from all today.
Much better performance. Looked more like a team today. And with Adrian in goal it feels better than the mercenary Hart.
Should of started with Sakho but apart from that a very good tactical performance against one of the best teams in Europe. We created quite a few chances and really deserved a draw. Once Sakho came on I would of left Antonio in the hole dropped lanzini in next to obiang and kept Fernandez on the right. We need to break with power and pace,exactly what Antonio and Sakho offer with Arthur and Fernandez supporting. We need to set up this way every week with the right personnel (Adrian, Rice and Sakho ) we will still have a good season.
Sorry but must play Adrian and the same side for Chelsea even if Reid is fit. Maybe Reid can be slotted in instead of the useless cresswell who can’t defend and never could and now except for the assist goal by oggy can’t put in crosses either . Hart must be back up keeper only then outed with Carroll end of season or sooner. Masu with his quick feet is better suited further forward but we need a left back asp.obiang better fernandes and joy also improved if only chich was fit he would have put arnies great pass away with his eyes shut unlike the sakho of **** not even testing the keeper. Sell him jan and get a few quality players for the run in. Well done rice same determination will see us ok against teams that are not like this city side that is one of the best in the world and only Chelsea and mancs can come anywhere near their class in the premiership imo. Coyi
Have to agree with much of the sentiment, although I felt Lanzini looked out of his depth/groove/role, whatever, he gave the ball away and didn’t create enough for his team. Great linking up and footwork, but was there enough end result?
Felt Fernandez offered energy and nice touches, Obiang a bit abscent, Kanoute ran around a lot, but needs more discipline, and Antonio looked out of breath after 15 minutes!
Good job David Moyes, Stuart Psycho et al……
If it hadn’t been for Fabian ‘cheating’ Delph the diver, it may have been all different……
As for his comment abouot sitting 10 men behind the balll???
Have you watched any football recently Fab??