Manchester City 2014/15 Player Ratings: Pablo Zabaleta

Pablo Zabaleta (29 PL starts + 6 CL appearances): 7/10

A solid, but not spectacular season for our long-serving right-back. He turned in most of the same consistent performances that we've come accustomed to seeing from him, but there were a few more mistakes sprinkled in than usual this term. Having turned 30 in January, this is probably not a surprise for a player of his age.

And let's not forget the number of miles he's logged over the year(s) either. Dating back to the start of the World Cup last summer, I'm fairly certain (without actually checking the numbers) that Zaba has played more minutes than any other player in the Premier League over the past year. And if he hasn't, well, he probably put in more effort and muscle than those ahead of him. He played every single minute of Argentina's heartbreaking run to the Final in Brazil last summer, and started another 29 matches in England this season on top of cup/European matches and more duty with the national team. Bacary Sagna hasn't shown much reason to be started ahead of him, and thus given Zaba's incredible stamina he's continued to churn out matches at a rate similar to Sepp Blatter saying absurd one-liners.

On the field, he was one of the few reliable players for City this season. His WhoScored rating of 7.22 ranks 6th on the team, and his home/away split of 7.20/7.26 shows that he was consistent whether in the comforts of the Etihad or on the road, where City struggled mightily this season.

Perhaps most impressive is his far-and-away team-leading 3.7 tackles per match. In the league as a whole he ranked tied for second with Morgan Schneiderlin behind Liverpool's Lucas. The next closest City teammate is Fernandinho, sitting at 2.8. A massive gulf. This is a testament to his high work rate and focus on his work. He's one player that can always be counted on for maximum effort regardless of the situation; a true leader on and off the pitch.

Standout matches in 2014/15 for Zaba include the 3-0 win at Southampton where he highlighted a dominant display from the City defense, and the final Champions League group stage match at Roma. His goal late in that match sealed City's progress to the knockout stages and watching him run over to the travelling support while kissing the badge was certainly a wonderful moment.

Bet you didn't know: he finished 6th on the team in assists.