Man City 6-1 Southampton: Every player rated as Raheem Sterling and co. smash the Saints for six

Manchester City hosted Southampton on Sunday looking to immediately overhaul Liverpool and go back to the top of the Premier League table.

The Citizens wasted little time in getting going, racing into a 3-0 lead within just 18 minutes, playing at a pace that Southampton just couldn’t cope with.

The Saints eventually stabilised in defence and even managed to pull a goal back on half-an-hour, with Danny Ings converting a penalty after Ederson brought the Liverpool loanee down in the box.

The respite didn’t last long, however, with Raheem Sterling making it 4-1 just before half-time.

Things didn’t get much better for Mark Hughes’ side in the second half, with Sterling, Aguero, Silva and co continuing to tease and taunt the Southampton defence. By the time Leroy Sane made it 6-1 on 91 minutes, you were left wondering whether a Premier League side had really shown up to face Man City.

Here is how the players rated.

Manchester City

Ederson – 5 – Was barely called into action, apart from the odd pass to his teammates. One of the few times he was called into action, he misjudged Ryan Bertrand’s through ball and brought down Danny Ings to give away a penalty, which he failed to keep out. Spilt James Ward-Prowse’s shot in the second half but recovered well. Wasn’t massively convincing when dealing with crosses.

Kyle Walker – 7 – Pace, power, precision. Kyle Walker is the ultimate modern-day right-back and he showed why again against Southampton. Had a slightly tougher time dealing with Ryan Bertrand on City’s right than Mendy did in dealing with Cedric and Long on their left, but was still largely untroubled and free to charge down the wing at will.

John Stones – 7 – A strong, authoritative performance from John Stones. The England centre-back continues to flourish under Pep Guardiola and, at times, looked more like a Libero than a run of the mill centre-back today, picking his moments to take the ball into midfield and start City attacks. 

Aymeric Laporte – 6 – A lazy moment on 84 minutes allowed Shane Long to take a speculative, long-range effort at Ederson’s goal. Other than that, a very solid performance from a defender that keeps growing in confidence in Pep Guardiola’s side. A great, ball-playing partner for John Stones.

Benjamin Mendy – 7 – Motored up and down City’s left wing all game and kept Cedric and Shane Long bound to their own half. Questions get asked about Mendy’s defensive capabilities but the Frenchman was very solid today. Besides, if City keep destroying teams like they did today, does he even need to defend?

David Silva – 9 – Wow. Just wow. If David Silva keeps on putting in these kinds of performances, they’re going to have to start coming up with some new superlatives for the English dictionary. The Spanish wizard teased Southampton’s midfielders and defenders for the full 71 minutes he was on the pitch and was orchestrator in chief for Manchester City. The range and accuracy of the 32-year-old’s passing know no bounds.

Fernandinho – 7 – Fernandinho will enjoy days like today more than any other. Rather than being tasked with limiting the opposition as he does in the bigger games, the Brazilian was given the simple task of pivoting the Manchester City midfield, shifting the ball from side to side when Guardiola’s side go searching for another avenue to play through. Performed that task expertly today.

Bernardo Silva – 7 – A quieter day for Bernardo Silva than we’re getting used to. However, don’t let those lofty standards fool you into thinking the Portuguese playmaker had a bad game today as he was still a joy to watch with the ball and linked up well with City’s forward line.

Leroy Sane – 8 – The quietest of Man City’s front three and Leroy Sane still managed a goal and an assist. Kept Southampton guessing all game, cutting inside and smashing the far post one second, then outstripping the full-back to the byline the next. Took City’s sixth goal very well at the end.  

Sergio Aguero – 9 – One goal, two assists and a classic Sergio Aguero performance today. The Argentine ace put City 2-0 up after 12 minutes and was a thorn in the side of Jack Stephens and Wesley Hoedt all afternoon. Moved in tandem with his fellow forwards, running into their spaces and creating gaps for the likes of Silva and Sane to do the same.

Raheem Sterling – 10 – For a long time in this game, David Silva was playing himself toward a man of the match award. However, Sterling lit up the Etihad with two goals and two assists today in what was as close to a perfect performance as you’re ever going to see. The England international just keeps growing in confidence under Pep Guardiola and the way he pulled Southampton’s defence out of all recognition was just an absolute pleasure to watch.

Subs

Vincent Kompany (68 minutes for John Stones) – 6 – Got a good run out in the second half with City in total control and kept things solid at the back, despite Southampton trying to ask a few more questions.

Phil Foden (71 minutes for David Silva) – 6 – Another 20 minutes of Premier League football under Phil Foden’s belt will only help the Man City youngster’s development. Kept things neat and tidy and used his feet well to win a free kick on the edge of the Southampton box late on. Looking forward to seeing Foden getting more minutes to allow his confidence to grow in the future.

Fabian Delph (78 minutes for Fernandinho) – 6 – Replaced the exquisite Fernandinho late on and kept things simple. Didn’t really get enough time to influence the game.

Southampton 

Alex McCarthy – 5 – A very tough day at the office for Alex McCarthy, especially in front of England manager Gareth Southgate. However, the Saints stopper really was powerless to hold back the Manchester City tide and could have done with some help from his defenders.

Cedric Soares – 4 – Outmuscled by Sergio Aguero for City’s fourth goal and completely outclassed all afternoon by Leroy Sane and Benjamin Mendy down Southampton’s right.

Jack Stephens – 4 – The slightly more convincing of Southampton’s two central defenders, Jack Stephens was pulled all over the place as City shifted the ball from left to right. With those to the side and ahead of him unable to cope, the 24-year-old had to face a lot of balls across the six-yard box.

Wesley Hoedt – 3 – Scoring an own goal after six minutes probably wasn’t the start to the game that Wesley Hoedt had in mind but that’s what happened and, to be honest, things didn’t improve a great deal afterwards. The Dutchman struggled to contain an electric Sergio Aguero and looked uncomfortable with City’s delivery all game.

Ryan Bertrand – 6 – Played a great through ball for Danny Ings to win Southampton’s penalty and was one of their few bright sparks today. Tried to get up and down the Saints left to give Mark Hughes’ side an outlet but was rarely backed up.

James Ward-Prowse – 5 – Put in a lot of yards and tried his best to keep Manchester City at bay, but what can you do when you come up against David Silva in this kind of form? Got forward a little more in the second half as Southampton tried to restore some pride and tested Ederson with a decent effort.

Mario Lemina – 6 – One of the few Southampton players that tried to use the ball with care and authority. Lemina was energetic and quick at recycling possession for the Saints, only for it to break down elsewhere on the pitch.

Pierre-Emile Hojberg – 5 – Hojberg is a tidy footballer, but rarely tried anything to test the Man City back line this afternoon. Then again, you can’t really blame him too much as he spent most of the game chasing sky blue shadows.

Shane Long – 5 – Shane Long is a forward horrifically off form and it showed here. Had all of his usual industry and running but showed little to no threat up front for Southampton, missing his one and only decent chance in the second half. His teammates needed more in terms of holding the ball up and helping them to get up the pitch when under pressure.

Nathan Redmond – 5 – Not a great day at the office for Nathan Redmond, much like the rest of his teammates. The winger was pinned back by Kyle Walker’s incessant overlapping and Raheem Sterling’s brilliance, nullifying whatever attacking threat Redmond could give. 

Danny Ings – 7 – Won and took his first-half penalty very well to try and restore some Southampton pride. Other than that, Ings was a largely isolated figure up front for the Saints and had the unenviable task of trying to hold the ball up against John Stones, Aymeric Laporte and, later on, Vincent Kompany.

Subs

Michael Obafemi (73 minutes for James Ward-Prowse) – 6 – Looked lively when he came on and set up Shane Long for a good chance on 83 minutes, which the Irish international wasted.

Mohamed Elyounoussi (73 minutes for Nathan Redmond) – 5 – Had little effect on the game at all after replacing Nathan Redmond on 73 minutes.

Stuart Armstrong (82 minutes for Danny Ings) – 6 – His substitution merely served to give Danny Ings a much needed rest after being passed around the Manchester City defence in cruel fashion. Didn’t have enough time to contribute.

 

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