Manchester City vs Liverpool player ratings: Who fared best (and worst) as the defending Premier League champions played their closest rivals to a thrilling 2-2 draw at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday?
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The amount of quality on display resulted in lots of 7s and 8s being handed out. As advertisements for football and the Premier League go, Manchester City vs Liverpool was brilliant both in terms of the various parts as well as their sum.
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Below are the Manchester City vs Liverpool player ratings in full, with marks out of 10 and analysis on each player.
Manchester City player ratings
Ederson: 6.5 – Four shots on target, two saves, two goals conceded. Not the best stat line of Ederson’s Manchester City career, but how much could he have done to save either goal?
Kyle Walker: 7 – Walker had the unenviable task of tending to Sadio Mane on the right flank, and he did well (with plenty of help) with the exception of one clever run into the middle.
John Stones: 6.5 – Stones played his part in the Walker vs Mane battle, but he was also culpable for the goal.
Aymeric Laporte: 7.5 – The Frenchman-turned-Spaniard struggled more than usual in possession (due to Liverpool’s incredible press), but was rock solid as ever defensively. He made a pair of last-man tackles that almost certainly saved two goals.
Joao Cancelo: 8 – The Portuguese playmaker left back found plenty of dangerous space once Trent Alexander-Arnold went forward. His assist to Gabriel Jesus was just one of so many pieces of individual brilliance on display on Sunday.
Rodri: 6.5 – It wasn’t a game played at a tempo that fit Rodri’s style and strengths, but he’s a vital piece of the operation and remains undroppable for that fact. His absence would have a far greater on Man City than his presence could do on Sunday, and that’s still a preferred outcome.
Kevin De Bruyne: 8 – Finally back to peak fitness and sharpness, De Bruyne looked like scoring or setting up a goal with just about every touch in the final third. Normal service has resumed.
Bernardo Silva: 8 – In a recurring theme of Sunday’s epic encounter, Silva was typically brilliant every time he touched the ball, especially to play De Bruyne in for the opening goal.
Phil Foden: 6.5 – An unexpectedly quiet outing from the 21-year-old, who was rested in UEFA Champions League action midweek in order to be fresh for Sunday’s game.
Gabriel Jesus: 8.5 – It’s been a while since Jesus had such a positive impact on the game, as he scored the first, set up chances galore and was a constant threat. He repaid the faith Guardiola put in him to start such a big game after struggling for regular starts.
Raheem Sterling: 7 – Sterling was as lively and dangerous as he’s been in quite some time, but his early one-on-one chance was saved by Alisson and the chance he did put away was ruled out for offside by video review.
Liverpool player ratings
Alisson: 6.5 – Five shots on target, three saves, two goals conceded. Like Ederson, it’s hard to fault Alisson for the stops he didn’t make.
Trent Alexander-Arnold: 7 – TAA almost requires an attacking rating and a defensive rating at this point, for being so brilliant at the former and absentminded when it comes to the latter. Assist? Check. Falling asleep while Jesus snuck behind him for a close-range finish? Also check.
Joel Matip: 6.5 – Matip was constantly busy making clearances (7) and interceptions (2) as Liverpool exerted their aerial dominance against a striker-less Man City.
Virgil Van Dijk: 8 – As the game opened up more and more, both sides throwing caution to the wind in the name of winning the Premier League title, Van Dijk was asked to make a few fantastic tackles and blocks, including one off the goal line, and he was up to it.
Andrew Robertson: 6 – Jesus was an unexpected selection on the right side of Man City’s attack, and Robertson didn’t have his best game. He was held deep and narrow defensively by Jesus’ outside-in approach, thus limiting Robertson’s ability to get forward in attack.
Fabinho: 6.5 – As the inverse to Rodri’s struggles, Man City were quite smart about playing around Fabinho, knowing full well his ability to win the ball and start counter-attacks. Guardiola wasn’t going to be beaten that way.
Jordan Henderson: 6 – Granted, it’s difficult to get near the ball when you’re playing Manchester City, but Henderson recorded two tackles and no other defensive actions. Liverpool need more from both halves of the two-way midfield duo.
Thiago Alcantara: 6.5 – Thiago sprayed a handful of balls out to the wings — a couple of which probably made some jaws drop — but ultimately nothing came of the dazzling ball progression.
Mohamed Salah: 7 – Put his diagonal through ball, setting up Sadio Mane’s goal, in a museum. Through the heart of perhaps the best-organized midfield and defense the game has ever seen, as if they weren’t even there.
Diogo Jota: 7.5 – Jota took his goal well, but his limitations as a center forward were quite clear to see against a smart defensive side like Man City. Without size and strength for traditional hold-up play, he loses the ball a lot in seemingly simple situations.
Sadio Mane: 7.5 – Mane finished his lone shot of the game with ease, but his impact on the rest of the game was held to a minimum without much space to operate between Man City’s lines.
