Manchester City needed to work at it, but were eventually rewarded and left Hull City with all three points in tow. Once City got on the board the floodgates began to open and that left the scoreline less flattering than deserved. Hull were very defensive and it took a poor challenge in the box to gift the visitors a penalty in the final quarter of the game. Hull never really threatened City other than set pieces, which did give the Sky Blues trouble at times.
The first half was toothless from both teams and the score at the half was 0-0. The second half saw the game open up as Hull began to believe they could steal the three points and every set piece was a "hold your breath" moment for City supporters. Eventually Raheem Sterling made a decent run in towards the box and was brought down. Yaya Touré stepped up and drilled the penalty to the relief of City fans everywhere.
After City gained the lead Hull was forced to come out more and that led to a beautiful counter-attacking goal where Kevin De Bruyne essentially told everyone where to go which lead to Kelechi Iheanacho’s tap-in. Finally Hull were forced into an own goal in the final seconds, giving City a 3-0 win and hopefully some momentum to carry into a massive clash with Liverpool on New Year's Eve.
Below are the player ratings for each player that saw the pitch for Man City against Hull. Several players stepped up when the rest of the squad looked sluggish, especially our Man of the Match.
Claudio Bravo: 6.0
A clean sheet for the Chilean, but not without having to be bailed out by one of his defenders. Bravo’s decision to charge on a second ball from a corner that led to Sagna’s goal line clearance was awful and could have really cost City.
Bacary Sagna: 6.5
The Frenchman slotted in quite well for the injured Pablo Zabaleta. Sagna still seems uncomfortable coming more infield than sticking out wide, so perhaps Pep will ask his full backs to hold the width more against Liverpool at the weekend.
Nicolas Otamendi: 7.5
The Argentine defender was very good in this game. Otamendi gets a lot of flack sometimes from pundits and even supporters, but it’s difficult to imagine where City would be without Nico.
John Stones: 6.0
A very tough break for the Englishman having to be subbed off extremely early. It appears to be just a bad knock on the knee but Stones is likely to miss out against Liverpool barring a catastrophe elsewhere.
Gaël Clichy: 5.5
Clichy still looks very unsure of his defending. The Frenchman did deliver a few decent crosses and kept his mistakes to a minimum, but there is still concern for the position. If rumors are to be believed, City may be in the shop for a new left back in January.
Fernandinho: 7.0
A welcome return for the Brazilian midfielder, Fernandinho was good after sitting out three games. Dinho will be very important if City are to truly challenge for silverware this season and having the Brazilian back is a sight for sore eyes for City supporters.
Yaya Touré: 8.0
It wasn't that long ago City were struggling to score penalties, remember when it cost them points against Everton? When City really needed it, the Ivorian stepped up and smashed one home. At times Touré looked sluggish, but did a decent job of directing traffic in the midfield.
David Silva: 7.5
When the game was running late on and City were still looking for a goal, Silva looked livelier and livelier with each passing minute. Silva is one of City’s most important players and as he goes the offense tends to as well.
Raheem Sterling: 7.0
Sterling was very hit-or-miss all game. Sometimes his moves came off and other times he stalled play and gave the ball away, but as the Englishman plugged away he was eventually rewarded, drawing the penalty that gave City a vital lead.
Nolito: 5.0
A very tough evening for the Spanish winger in this game. We’ve seen far better from Nolito this season and while he continuously pressed and harassed defenders, he was far too poor anytime he was given the ball.
Kevin De Bruyne: 8.5 (Man of the Match)
The Belgian midfielder is spectacular. City fans are truly spoiled watching Kevin De Bruyne play football. Despite not getting on the scoresheet, he was absolutely phenomenal in this game. De Bruyne struggled in the first half when asked to play up front, but excelled through the middle and out on the left in the second half.
Substitutes
Aleksandar Kolarov: 6.5
The Serbian defender slotted right in for Stones after his knock. Expect to see Kolarov against Liverpool this weekend.
Kelechi Iheanacho: 6.5
The Nigerian took his goal well, though it would have been a disastrous miss. The young striker certainly added more bite to the City attack that was missing before.
Fernando: 6.0
No real time to mark the Brazilian as he only got eight minutes and was brought on to see the game out.