Top drawer entertainment today. The scoreline may not suggest it, but, in the timeless words of Alan Pardew, we absolutely raped them. There was a fluidity and fluency about the team, and far less caution than we have seen in recent weeks.
Hart- 5/10: The only poor performance of the day. Looked shaky distributing, and had Kompany to thank for an aerial blunder when dealing with a cross. But, to be fair to him, he took a fair few of them with ease.
Kolarov- 7/10: Looks to be a really exciting player, this one. Quick, strong, good on the ball, and with a hammer of a shot, and seemed to be all over the left flank today. He kept his winger in check, whilst making good attacking contributions. Harshly sent off, the second yellow never was.
Kompany-8/10: The rock and heart of our defence. Looks unflappable and dominant, which is quite something when dealing with players like Davies and Elmander. For me, he has to be one of the top defenders in the league about now.
K Touré-6/10: Wasn't on for long, but didn't seem to get too much wrong. Him and Kompany seem to be developing a good partnership though.
Zabaleta-9/10: For me, he was man of the match. Several crucial defensive contributions, combined with storming runs down the flank, combining nicely with Balotelli/Silva. I wasn't his biggest fan at the start of the season, but seems to be improving by the game, and becoming a first team regular.
De Jong-7/10:Typically solid performance. Won the ball more times than know, and gave To-ré license to get forward. Was vital at the end when defending the lead, keeping a cool head under pressure.
Barry-8/10: Impressive. Good on the ball, strong in the tackle, and played brilliant passes. He seemed to be there any time a player needed support, and played telling attacking balls to the front three to create chances. Quickly becoming the engine room of our midfield.
Y Touré-8/10: Seems to be recovering from his slow start. Brilliant pass to set up Tevez, and was offering support to the front three throughout, whilst providing a dominant, imposing presence in midfield. Still doesn't seem to do heading though.
Balotelli- 8/10: This guy can be as good as he wants to be. Phenominal skill, amazing ball control, but not the temperament to match his world class ability. Posed a constant threat to the back line, with quick feet and running and a sharp eye for goal. Unlucky not to score when his shot cannoned back off the post. If he gets his temperament sorted, he can be up there with Messi and ladyboy.
Silva- 8/10: Another elegant, silky performance. He's quickly showing that he can cope with the physicality of the Premier League, and, once the ball is on the floor, can tie a defense in knots. Effective both through the middle and cutting in from the flanks, and was unlucky to get neither a goal (hitting the bar from the edge of the area) or an assist (incorrectly ruled offside when setting up Tévez)
Tévez- 8/10: This guy must be hell to mark. It neevr fails to amaze me how a man of 5"6 can control so many long balls with large central defenders (albeit, Zat Knight) looming over him. Took his goal well, was unlucky/cheated not to get another, and gave exactly the sort of all action performance we have come to expect from the Argentinian maestro.
Subs:
Lescott- 6/10: Looked reasonably good defensively, but his clearances and distribution when on the ball were often aimless, and gifted the opposition possession.
Richards- 6/10: Wasn't on longe enough really to judge. Was greeted onto the field with a round of "There's only two Balotellis"
Milner- : Was barely on for a minute.
Overall, we got this one bang on. Strong at the back, but enough attacking options to dominate. A good day's entertainment, and what could prove to be a crucial three points.
cheers hesherehesthere's ;)
