Richards This felt like an opportunity missed. Jérome Boateng is clearly first choice right-back now so Richards should really be making an impact in games like this. But he was surprisingly quiet going forward, even if he defended well enough. 6
Boyata Generally good, including one crucial interception in a one-on-one when the visitors were looking to get back into the game. He will be limited to these sorts of games for the rest of the season but he's looking increasingly competent. 7
Lescott As the senior man in the back four he ought to have taken responsibility, but he was error-prone and lacked focus. He made the initial mistake for the goal we conceded and was fairly suspect throughout. At the mercy of Kolo Touré's return from injury. 5
Zabaleta Missed a clearance when we conceded but otherwise competent enough. Took a few kicks - and surprisingly did not retaliate - and even broke into the box a few times. 6
Vieira This is his sort of game: time on the ball and fairly pliant opposition. He was comfortable throughout, without ever quite being commanding, but it was a nice pass through to Adebayor for our first goal and there was some astute switching of play too. 6
de Jong Demonstrated what a clean and precise tackler he can be when he chooses to be. He made a number of crucial interventions all across the pitch, and was always in the right place when he was needed to shut down opposition attacks. 7
A. Johnson Nearly scored one of the best goals we've seen in years, cutting in from the right and hitting the angle of post and bar. For the most part he was lively, beating defenders and putting crosses in, without making it obviously clear that the stage was beneath him, in the way that Silva did. Shouldn't expect to start on Sunday. 7
Silva Just delightful. This was his best all-round performance for City, and further development from his match-winning cameo at Blackpool. Over the course of the evening his movement off the ball, his touch and his dribbling was unlike anyone else on the pitch. His two assists for Adebayor: a cross swung in from the by-line, and one from deeper that curled past two defenders to Manu were both perfect. He didn't score himself - one Kinkladze type run threatened to match his goal last week - but he was a joy to watch. This is going to be special. 9
SWP Good to see him getting a run out, and he looked surprisingly high on confidence despite barely playing recently. The ball stuck to his feet as he charged down either flank, and while his final ball and shooting wasn't quite there he still caused problems and had a bit of fun. 7
Adebayor Hard to quibble with a hat-trick. He took all three goals well, and his turn into the first one was as sharp a spin as we'll see this season. The second was one of those far-post arched-back headers, and the third a good finish from Silva's precise cross. Let's hope this means he will be a useful option in future, with confidence restored. 9
Subs:
Yaya Touré Little impact n/a
Jo Little impact n/a
Bridge Little impact n/a
2 comments:
SWP was pretty awful last night for my money - and has been for a while. The guy needs to go back to basics. He always seems to want the extra touch, shoot with the outside of his boot, beat one more man than he needs to. Until he starts doing the simple stuff well again, he isn't going to get in the starting 11 very often.
very pleased for ade and the [good] options his performance presents us with. after a poor first half, i thought swp had a very decent second half. silva is an absolute gem and boyata is going to be some player. though the lech poznan played their part in what was a cracking game to watch
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