Boxing day came to an end with a very lopsided matchup between the struggling Hull City Tigers and the inconsistent Pep Guardiola citizens, when both teams faced each other in a must win situation but due to very different reasons.
The hosts were in desperate need of a win or at least a draw at home due to their relegation battle, while Guardiola’s side is still on a title run and couldn’t allow the leaders Chelsea and Liverpool to keep getting ahead of them.
As you’d expect, the final result was a clear victory for the visitors, but they had to work really hard for those 3 points, as the Tigers held their ground in defence for over 70 minutes and even managed to bring danger to the goal defended by Claudio Bravo. So, it’s time to take a look at the player ratings from the citizens during this exciting boxing day matchup.
Claudio Bravo 7/10
The Chilean goalkeeper had a decent outing, not being very demanded through most of the game but responding with great success when he was needed to.
Bacary Sagna 7/10
The French veteran was kind of slow to get back on defence at times, but he managed to be very productive on offence. Completed over 90% of his passes, winning several of his aerial duels as well.
Nicolas Otamendi 8/10
The centre-back had another great outing and looks like the main guy on defence for Pep Guardiola’s side, stepping up big time after Kompany’s injury and Stones’ struggles.
John Stones 5/10
The newcomer had yet another nightmare outing during those 18 minutes he managed to be on the pitch, being replaced with an injury after losing position several times and looking out of focus once again.
Gael Clichy 7/10
Clichy was more of a winger, as he spent most of the time on the opposing sector of the field and wasn’t required to do much on defence throughout the 90 minutes.
Yaya Toure 9/10
The Ivory Coast veteran showed once again that he’s fit and ready to contribute for Guardiola’s side despite all the polemic that surrounded him. The former Barcelona midfielder managed to open the score from the penalty spot, earning the man of the match honours.
Fernandinho 8/10
Toure’s buddy on the center of the field was everywhere on defence once again, paying every single dime of that big extension he just got a couple of weeks ago.
Raheem Sterling 7/10
Sterling wasn’t at his best, as he was back to his selfish self and could’ve done a lot more on offence but preferred to take the matters on his own, failing a couple of times.
Kevin de Bruyne 7/10
The Belgian midfielder showed glances of greatness once again, but was kind of quiet during most of the matchup with the exception of a couple of beautiful shots.
David Silva 8/10
Silva managed to record yet another assist for the citizens, which would be his 4th in this year’s English Premier League.
Nolito 6/10
The Spaniard had yet another mediocre performance for Guardiola’s team, and he seems way out of sync with his teammates and his future as a citizen isn’t looking quite good at all.