EPL 2017/18: Manchester City 5-0 Liverpool, Player Ratings

Manchester City enjoyed an emphatic 5-0 win over Liverpool in the Premier League game at the Etihad in the early kickoff game on Saturday. It was a day to forget for Jurgen Klopp as he saw his heaviest defeat in the Premier League, while Manchester City moved provisionally to the top of the league with the result.

After some nervous moments for both defences in the opening minutes, Sergio Aguero’s opening goal in the 24th minute helped the hosts’ nerves settle a bit. The visitors’ misery was compounded when Sadio Mane was given a straight red-card for a dangerous tackle, and the Liverpool team offered no threat after being reduced to 10 men.

Gabriel Jesus scored a brace on either side of the half-time and substitute Leroy Sane added two more in the closing stages of the one-sided game.

We look at the player ratings from the game:

Manchester City

Ederson: 7.5/10

The goalkeeper suffered a nasty injury during the collision with Sadio Mane in the 37th minute. Was solid before that and ensured that Liverpool’s promising attacks were thwarted despite some shaky defending from Otamendi in the early parts of the game. The City fans will hope the keeper recovers soon and isn’t out for an extended period.

Kyle Walker: 7/10

Walker offered a constant threat from the right and linked up well with de Bruyne to trouble the Liverpool defence. The player wasn’t required much for his defensive duties.

Danilo: 7/10

The former Real Madrid player was part of the back three which was expected to be under constant threat by the formidable Liverpool attack. Mane’s red card in the first half meant the opponents were unable to trouble the City defence much, and Danilo enjoyed a tidy game.

John Stones: 7/10

Similar to Danilo, Stones enjoyed a good game with Liverpool losing their most potent attacking threat. Stones as tidy in the defence, but missed a great chance to double the lead when the score was 1-0.

Nicolas Otamendi: 6/10

Otamendi looked uncomfortable against Salah in the first half, and received an early yellow card for a clumsy challenge. Salah’s substitution in the second half offered respite for the defender, and he improved as the game went on and played his part in the clean sheet.

Benjamin Mendy: 7/10

Similar to Walker on the other flank, Mendy looked to advance and be part of the attacks. In a game where the City defence was largely untroubled, the French international didn’t have much defending to do.

Fernandinho: 7/10

Fernandinho struggled in the early stages of the game against the pace of Mane and Salah, and was booked in the first half. The midfielder later played a role in one of the goals.

Kevin de Bruyne: 9/10

Kevin de Bruyne was City’s best player in the game. With assists for the first two goals and a dominant performance throughout the match, the Belgian showed why he’s considered among the most talented players in the world.

David Silva: 7/10

Captaining the side in the absence of Vincent Kompany, Silva had a relatively quiet game by his lofty standards. He was involved in City’s attacking gameplay but didn’t do anything significant of note.

Gabriel Jesus: 8.5/10

Another fine performance by Gabriel Jesus, who turned 20 not too long ago. The young striker scored a fine brace – a brilliant header for the first goal and gratefully accepted Aguero’s gift for his second.

Sergio Aguero 8.5/10

The Argentine continued his fine form against Liverpool at the Etihad, as he was on the scoresheet for the sixth consecutive time in this fixture. Aguero also created Jesus’s second goal and constantly troubled Liverpool’s defence.

Substitutes

Claudio Bravo: 7/10

Not many City fans would have been confident to see the keeper come on as a substitute with the team leading only 1-0 then. But such was the domination of the City team, that Bravo was barely involved in the game, and will gladly take the clean sheet from the match.

Leroy Sane 8.5/10

Sane came on as a substitute for Jesus in the 57th minute and added to Liverpool’s misery by scoring two brilliant late goals.

Eliaquim Mangala: 7/10

It was one of the easier games in the Manchester City career of the much-criticised defender. Mangala came on for Otamendi in the 71st minute and enjoyed some time on the pitch without any trouble.

Liverpool

Simon Mignolet: 6/10

The Belgian keeper returned to the team and missing out against Arsenal and made some good saves to deny City the chance to capitalise on defensive errors by his teammates. Couldn’t have done much for the goals conceded, as he was often left exposed to City attacks by his defence.

Trent Alexander-Arnold: 4/10

The inexperience and nerves of the young defender showed in the game, as he was unable to cope with the City attack, and didn’t offer much offensively either. He conceded an early corner needlessly when the score was 0-0 and was warned by the referee for taking too much for throw-ins.

Joel Matip: 4/10

The usually-reliable Liverpool defender had a game to forget as he saw the team leak 5 goals. Matip was unable to lead and organise the defence which was all at sea against the City attack.

Ragnar Klavan: 3.5/10

The Estonian was a surprise inclusion in place of Dejan Lovren for the game. Klavan was at fault in most of the City goals, and Klopp will think twice before including him in a high-profile fixture again.

Alberto Moreno: 5/10

Surprisingly the best performer from the Liverpool back-four, Moreno tried his best to contribute offensively as well as in defence in the first half. Just like all his teammates, he found the game beyond reach in the second half.

Jordan Henderson: 4/10

The Liverpool captain will wish the game was only a bad nightmare. Henderson was unable to pull up or inspire his team one bit after the Mane red card, and he often found himself being dominated by his City counterparts in the midfield.

Emre Can: 4.5/10

The German international will hope for better games when he considers a new contract at Anfield. Can has been one of the better Liverpool players this season, but was unable to stamp any authority on the game.

Georginio Wijnaldum: 4.5/10

Similar to Can, Wijnaldum also had a lacklustre game and often went missing in the game and had no impact. Klopp decided an early sub for him in the second half to try to change things on the pitch.

Sadio Mane: 4/10

Red carded for the high challenge on Ederson – which many will say was a debatable decision. Apart from the obvious impact on this game’s result with his side reduced to 10 men, will be sorely missed in Liverpool’s next 3 games, unless the red card decision is overturned. Was lively before, and created promising opportunities in attack for the Reds.

Mohamed Salah: 5.5/10

Salah enjoyed a bright start and was a menace for the City defence, especially troubling Otamendi. He was at the centre of all the attacking runs by Liverpool in the first half, but was guilty of wasting good chances, which ultimately hurt the team badly.

Roberto Firmino: 4.5/10

Firmino had a very quiet game. He was mostly a spectator even when Salah and Mane were causing problems for City, and once Liverpool were reduced to 10 men, he was unable to make any mark at all in the match.

Substitutes

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain 4.5/10

It was a miserable debut for Oxlade-Chamberlain as he came on after half-time when his team was 2-0 down, only to see the Reds concede 3 goals more in the second half. With the team struggling to hold the ball and cause any trouble for opposition defence, the new Liverpool signing would have had some flashbacks of facing his new team a couple of weeks back.

James Milner 4.5/10

Milner was brought on for Wijnaldum in the 58th minute but was unable to make any difference in a game which the visitors had already given up by then.

Dominic Solanke 4.5/10

Solanke was brought on for Firmino in the 67th minute, with the match seemingly lost, and it was too much to expect from the young striker when his more-experienced teammates were looking totally out-of-sorts.