The man who ensured defeat wasn’t heavier!

ClaretandHugh’sPlayerWatch man Danny Leach put his beadies on Zaba today as the veteran came up against his former team. Here’s the experienced right back’s every touch!

2 – Sends a long ball up to Arnautovic who is pushed
3 – Controls a bouncing ball on the edge of City’s area but a pass to Arnautovic in the air is blocked by Laporte
6 – Clears the ball upfield but it goes to Laporte
20 – A long ball out wide to Sane by Delph is headed away for a throw
27 – Makes a great tackle on Sane out wide to put the ball out for a throw
31 – Fails to block a low Sane cross in the box from the edge of the area after initially standing up well to him. The ball is cleared from danger.
42 – Controls an Otamendi long ball to Sane really well shielding him from the ball
45 – Makes a great interception on Sterlings cross preventing Gundogan from shooting
47 – Recieves the ball from Ogbonna and drives forward before making a great through ball to Arnautovic but he can’t sort his feet out and the ball is lost
60 – Makes a great sliding tackle on Sterling on the edge of the box
68 – Picks up the ball and runs down the line but his pass forward to Arnautovic is blocked by De Bruyne
76 – Makes a great clearance on the goal line preventing Jesus from scoring a tap in
90+2 – A good tackle on Sterling sends the ball out for a City corner.

Verdict – 6.5 – Given the result, Zabaleta had a good performance and was certainly one of our better players. His experience showed as he put a reliable performance and made some good tackles. Without him the defeat would have been heavier.