Hugh hands out the marks
Fabianski: Mr Safe Hands had few to save tonight but always looked confident at the back despite the City pressure 6
Fredericks: Can be very pleased with his night’s work, making important interventions and blocks. Good performance 7
Ogbonna: Solid as it gets – didn’t put a foot wrong 8
Diop: Outstanding..very little got past him and his concentration levels were terrific 8
Johnson: Really thrown in the deep end but was never fazed – another excellent Academy product 7
Obiang: Did well an an organised midfield making some important interventions and passes 6
Rice: Little chance to get forward and really tested at times but once again top level stuff 7
Nasri: Little chance to create too much on a night when City dominated 5
Anderson: Disappointing, brushed aside too easily 5
Antonio: One of two strong runs down the right side and looked to have hurt his shoulder but saw it out well 7
Carroll: One terrific effort well saved and some very good defensive work. Much better than we’ve seen so far this season 6
Subs
Lanzini: On for the second half – set up a chance for Carroll and got some much needed fitness under his belt 6
Zaba: Came on for Johnson and did well down the left side 6
Diangana: Late arrival No rating
While Johnson had a promising game, I’d probably have scored him more a 6 than a 7 and Fredericks probably an 8 rather than a 7.
Outside of the defence, (in which I include Rice and Obiang) I don’t really understand why anyone should have gotten anything higher than a 4. No-one seemed able to hold onto the ball and we were barely able to string more than 2 or 3 passes together without giving the ball away. In a game where our defence was in desperate need of respite, they received virtually no relief from any of our forward players.
We had a weakened side Johnson was good in his debit good defending all round. Didn’t keep the ball enough though. The penalty was not a penalty the ref needs to look at the replay cos he robbed us of a point. Need to go on a good run of wins starting with Newcastle which will require a lot of effort & commitment . COYI ⚒