Manchester City 1-2 Lyon: Player Ratings

Wednesday night gave us the first chance to take a look at the favorites for this year’s Champions League title, as Manchester City took on Lyon at the Etihad Stadium.

It was Lyon who picked up a shock win though, as they produced a superb counter-attacking display against what was really a quite average Manchester City performance.

Lyon took the lead midway through the first half when Memphis Depay’s cross somehow reached Maxwell Cornet at the far post, and he caressed a finish into the far corner.

They doubled their lead just before the break, Nabil Fekir taking advantage of some careless defending, before brilliantly firing past Ederson into the net.

City did get one back from Bernardo Silva midway through the second half, but it wasn’t enough for his side, who slipped to a 2-1 defeat.

Here are how all the players rated after a memorable win for Lyon at the Etihad Stadium.

Manchester City

Ederson- 6

It is hard to criticise Ederson too much for his performance. He was given no chance for the goals that he conceded, and actually produced a brilliant save in the second half from Memphis Depay to keep his team in the game.

Kyle Walker- 5

Arguably Walker could have done a lot more to deal with Depay in the lead up to Lyon’s opener and could have stopped the cross. He wasn’t his usual self-coming forward, and although he looked comfortable in possession, he wasn’t too much of a threat.

Aymeric Laporte- 4

The Frenchman has started the season well but looked far from his normal self against Lyon. Usually so assured in possession, he gave the ball away for Lyon’s second goal and looked very vulnerable in defensive positions.

John Stones- 5

Much like the rest of the back four, wasn’t at his best. He probably wasn’t at fault for any of the goals in the way the other defenders were, but he was caught out on a couple of occasions and didn’t look entirely comfortable.

Fabian Delph- 4

The less said about Delph’s performance the better I’m afraid. He didn’t really get close to Maxwell Cornet out on the left side, and he really should have cleared the ball before the Frenchman put it in for Lyon’s opener.

Ilkay Gundogan- 5

Everyone in the Manchester City side was far from their best against Lyon, and Gundogan was no different. He didn’t really control the game in the center of the park, and he actually seemed to be overrun by Lyon’s more energetic midfield. It wasn’t too much of a surprise when he was substituted early in the second half.

Fernandinho- 5

Certainly an off night for the Brazilian. His usual job in the middle of the park is to deal with attacks in front of his defense, and take a bit of pressure off them, but he was overrun by a young Lyon midfield and could have done a lot more.

David Silva- 6

Typically calm and composed in possession of the ball, but didn’t quite pick out those passes that we love to see from him. It didn’t help that there wasn’t too much movement from those in front of him, and there weren’t the sort of options available to him that he would have liked.

Raheem Sterling- 6

While there were some very average performances in the Manchester City, Sterling did a decent job. He will certainly have better nights, but he caused Rafael a lot of problems in the first half, and it was a shame to see him taken off in the second half.

Bernardo Silva- 6

Bernardo got City’s goal midway through the second half, but that was pretty much all we saw from him. He didn’t cause too much of a problem in the first half and was much more effective once he dropped into a deeper role.

Gabriel Jesus- 4

Unfortunately for Brazilian, you would have been mistaken for thinking that he wasn’t on the field before his substitution after an hour. In all fairness, he didn’t get the sort of service that he needed, and it meant that he didn’t really cause any problems for Lyon’s center back pairing.

Substitutes

Leroy Sane- 7

He may have been City’s best player, despite only being on the pitch for 40 minutes. Left Rafael for dead before setting up Bernardo Silva’s goal, but he did miss a brilliant chance in the final ten minutes, putting his free header well wide.

Sergio Aguero- 4

Much like Jesus, you wouldn’t have known he was on the pitch. Again, starved of service, and didn’t cause any problems for the Lyon center-backs.

Riyad Mahrez- 4

The Algerian came on late on and didn’t have too long to make an impact, but when the ball came his way, the quality of his delivery was really average.

Lyon

Anthony Lopes- 7

Lopes didn’t have too much of a chance with the first goal but made some superb saves otherwise. What was more impressive was his ability to hold on to the ball when it came his way, rather than pushing it back into the danger area.

Rafael- 5

A testing night for Rafael on his return to Manchester. Was second best to Raheem Sterling for much of the first half, and then Leroy Sane strolled past him in the lead up to Bernardo Silva’s strike.

Marcelo- 7

It was an excellent defensive display by Lyon, and it all came from the two center-backs. Marcelo was the more experienced of the pairing, and he showed his intelligence and was key in Lyon’s memorable win.

Jason Denayer- 8

A quite brilliant display from Denayer on his return to Manchester. He dealt with everything thrown at him and was rarely troubled by Sergio Aguero or Gabriel Jesus. He also looked comfortable in possession, and often set Lyon on their way going forward.

Ferland Mendy- 7

The left-back had an excellent night, and while his opposite full-back was having a torrid time of things, he looked assured. He dealt well with Bernardo Silva in the first half, and then Raheem Sterling and Riyad Mahrez in the second.

Houssem Aouar- 6

There is a lot of talk about this lad, and we saw glimpses of why that is the case on Wednesday night. He probably didn’t have his best game and was outshone by some of the more attack-minded players, but he had a decent night.

Pape Cheikh Diop- 7

You won’t see many teams get the better of Manchester City in midfield, but you got the feeling that Lyon was always comfortable in midfield. Diop did the more industrial side of the game very well against City and was safe in possession when he had it.

Tanguy Ndombele- 8

An excellent performance by the young Frenchman in the center of the park. He was energetic in getting around the park, and stopping City dominate the midfield, and also provided some real quality when the ball was at his feet.

Maxwell Cornet- 8

The least known of Lyon’s front three, but he may be spoken about more after his performance against City. He used all his pace and skill out there on the right and caused Fabian Delph constant problems. He also provided an excellent finish to give Lyon their opener.

Nabil Fekir- 9

The best player on the pitch. Fekir was absolutely brilliant and was a constant threat to City’s back four. He went past players with apparent ease, and he produced a quite brilliant finish at the end of the first half to double Lyon’s lead, and he most certainly deserved his goal.

Memphis Depay- 6

He looked like someone with a man to prove on his return to Manchester, and although the effort was there, the finishing product really wasn’t, and he probably should have scored in the second half. You got the feeling he could have done more.

Substitutes

Leo Dubois- 6

Did a better job than Rafael when he replaced the Brazilian late on in the second half, and he didn’t allow Sane to much of an opportunity.

Lucas Tousart- N/A

Only had a few minutes of the field, and we didn’t see much of him in that time.

Bertrand Traore- N/A

Wasn’t on the pitch long enough to make an impact, even if he did pick up a yellow card.

Edited by Victor R. Lopez M.