Bolton player ratings

Hart His worst performance of the season, lucky to leave without conceding. His decision making under Bolton's aerial assault was very shaky, and had things broken differently we might have conceded from one of his mistakes. Distribution fairly brainless at times. 4

Zabaleta Currently playing the best football of his time at City, he was very good again yesterday. Dealt well with returning blue Martin Petrov, and contributed well in the final third: getting in two good goalscoring positions but doing nothing with either. I still think he's a yard of pace away from being a top quality full-back, but his consistency and reliability are exceptional. 7

Kolo Touré Did well enough for half an hour before going off with a calf injury. 6

Kompany Had more to do than he might have expected, but dealt comfortably with all that Bolton had to offer in the air and on the ground. Excellent with the ball at his feet too - one run down the middle and flick out to Kolarov was reminiscent of Lúcio or Piqué. 7

Kolarov Good in some ways, less so in others. Solid defensively, useful in the final third and able to take a proper corner kick, which is a bit of a novelty at City. On the other hand, he might have scored a goal or two and his dismissal was very stupid. If it had cost us two points I would have been furious. 6

de Jong I thought the progressive elements of his game were lacking a bit - his first touch and passing were not as good as they usually are. That said, the destructive aspects of his game were as good as ever, with eight interceptions and six tackles. 6

Silva Delightful. His movement between the lines and his imagination on the ball are as good as anyone else in the Premier League. Created most of our best play, including one of those trademark reverse balls slid between defenders when he's looking the other way, which led to Mario Balotelli hitting the post. Hit the bar himself with a shot on the turn. 8

Yaya Touré I was surprised he played but his contribution was very good, creating the goal for Tévez and always present and useful in the final third. Powerful, dynamic, imaginative: not a defensive midfielder, as it happens. 7

Barry Another solid game from the neutral's favourite: used the ball well enough (50/54 passes) and made some important interventions. I'm not entirely convinced we needed him and de Jong and Yaya from the start but it seemed to work well enough. 6

Balotelli No goals, no bookings, no stamping, no tantrums. What a disappointment. He did hit the post with a very deft finish in the second half (justifying David Platt's suggestion he is the club's most natural finisher), and worked hard defensively: winning one slide-tackle in a full-back position and using his height in our box on set pieces. 6

Tévez Scored the early goal - a good finish - which framed the game. Otherwise he looked very frantic: snatching at shots, collecting a very silly booking that rules him out of the game on Saturday, and of course arguing with the boss over his substitution. I don't really care about the fuss: if you're surprised that Tévez reveals himself to be a spiky, feisty and difficult character then you can't have been paying attention for the last few years. We'll miss him at the Boleyn Ground. 7

Subs:

Lescott Played for an hour or so, did well in the air but is noticeably more hoofy in his distribution than Kolo or Kompany. 6

Milner Too late n/a