With goals from David Silva and Sergio Aguero either side of half-time, Manchester City booked their place in the FA Cup semi-finals after beating Middlesbrough at the Riverside stadium on Saturday. It was a very important step ahead for City as they hunt their first trophy under Pep Guardiola who took over as Man City boss last summer. Here’s how Manchester City players performed.
Manchester City Player Ratings
Claudio Bravo – 6/10
Had a fairly comfortable afternoon apart from one headed effort by Gestede that he fumbled, but was kept at bay by his defense.
Gael Clichy – 6/10
The left-back was solid in defense and made sure to keep out threat from Traore. He did well overall.
Nicolas Otamendi – 6/10
Was caused a few problems by Gestede but looked more settled once the Boro striker was forcefully subbed out for hamstring injury.
John Stones – 7/10
Firm and assertive in all his duels as he cut out the threat from Middlesbrough attack. The centre-back also made a fine clearance of a Fabio effort in the second half, which proved to be vital for his team.
Pablo Zabaleta – 7/10
Was his usual attacking self on the right hand side of defense and sent in a lovely cross for the first goal. Was solid at the back and made a one goal-line clearance himself as he bailed out his keeper.
Yaya Toure – 7/10
Strong performance from the Ivorian midfield man. He was spot on with his passing and vision, controlling the game for the visitors in the centre of the field.
Raheem Sterling – 6/10
Used his pace well on the wings to create more space for his team-mates but was lacking the end product.
David Silva – 7/10
The Spaniard opened the scoring with a close range finish but should have had two more. He should have settled the game early on but was lacking the clinical edge in finishing. however, he had a good game.
Kevin De Bruyne – 8/10
Did not put a foot wrong through-out the game as his passing and link up play with the City attackers was sublime. He controlled the game for his team in the attacking third and kept the pressure piled up on Middlesbrough.
Leroy Sane – 7/10
Was causing all sorts of problems to the Boro defense, using his pace to threaten Barragan down the flank. His final passes were not great and he managed to set one up for Aguero to finish the game off.
Sergio Aguero – 7/10
Was seemingly frustrated in the first half with most of the opportunities not going his way. He hit the post in the second half before managing to finally score and put the game beyond Middlesbrough.
Substitutes:
Fernando – 6/10
Came on for Toure and did not have a big impact on the game.
Kelechi Iheanacho – 6/10
Almost got City’s third of the game in injury time but was denied by Gibson.
Nolito – 6/10
Was unlucky not to get on the score-sheet with a couple of opportunities after replacing Sane.