Manchester City were defeated on Wednesday evening by Premier League champions elect Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. In what was an entertaining game, it could be argued City were the better side but Chelsea found a way to get all three points. In reality that’s exactly what champions do, they win big games even when they aren’t playing at their best and Chelsea exhibited that quality in spades.
Pep Guardiola seemed pleased with his team afterwards, even though Antonio Conte became the first manager EVER to do the domestic double over Pep.
Below are the ratings for each City player who saw the pitch against Chelsea, including our City Man of the Match.
Willy Caballero: 5.5
The penalty save was nice from Willy, but didn’t really amount to anything as Eden Hazard scored on the rebound. Even though Hazard's first goal was the result of a deflection, Caballero still probably should have done better.
Fernandinho: 5.0
The penalty conceded was a poor tackle for a player who really should have known better. Outside of that there wasn’t anything too egregious from the Brazilian, but nothing good enough either.
John Stones: 6.5
That awful miss at the final play of the match might haunt Stones for a couple of weeks, but City fans have to hope he’ll learn and grow from such experiences. Without a true right-back on the pitch, Stones was pulled all over the place by Chelsea’s wingers but did well in recovery.
Vincent Kompany: 6.5
The biggest positive from the game as a whole was Kompany making it through 90 minutes without another injury. The captain did look rusty, but as most veterans do he clearly settled into the game and was a big presence at the back.
Gaël Clichy: 4.5
Back to the old with Clichy again. The Frenchman has a habit of stringing together a couple of decent performances and then drops an awful one just to remind City supporters how frustrating the left-back position has been this season.
Fabian Delph: 7.0
The real surprise inclusion was midfielder Fabian Delph, and Pep's bet paid off. Delph was fantastic in midfield, finishing with the most passes in the match and breaking up Chelsea attacks up and down the pitch. Delph really gave Pep a reason to keep him around the squad next season.
Kevin De Bruyne: 6.0
Another OK performance from De Bruyne. the Belgian was his usual stellar self, which has happened for quite some time now. Confidence may be at the heart of his issues at the moment. Or maybe an injury. We don't know.
David Silva: 8.0 (City Man of the Match)
Silva has been the MOTM more times than not recently and it should be easy to see why. The Spaniard has been excellent when other City midfielders have struggled.
Jesús Navas: 5.0
From one great Spaniard to a frustrating one. If Navas didn’t have rapid pace he wouldn’t get a chance to play. Whether it was defensively or offensively, Navas really struggled against Chelsea.
Leroy Sané: 6.5
This wasn’t Sané’s best performance but it was far from his worst. As the youngster continues to play he seems to understand better what he can do to Premier League defenses. With the amount of growth Sané and Sterling have shown this season, City fans should be buzzing with what’s to come from these players.
Sergio Agüero: 7.5
The Argentinian was dangerous anytime he had the ball near the opponent's box. Agüero took his goal very well and continued to destroy the notion he doesn’t perform against top teams.
Raheem Sterling: 6.0
Sterling has always found it difficult coming off the bench and this game was no exception.
Nolito: N/A
No time to mark although he delivered a lovely ball to the box and Agüero almost got an equalizer in the final seconds of the match.