City v United ratings: Ineffective Fellaini sees red; De Bruyne stars

Joe Williams

We rate and slate the performances of the players as the Manchester derby ends in a goalless draw, with Kevin de Bruyne a star for Manchester City while Marouane Fellaini struggles before being sent off.

Manchester City

Claudio Bravo: Lack of composure saw him scoop a cross from Anthony Martial into the feet of Henrikh Mkhitaryan, but in the end he recovered well to save. Came off injured. 5

Pablo Zabaleta: Had a torrid time keeping a lid on the threat from Martial early on in the match. However, he grew into the match to put in a composed performance. 6.5

Vincent Kompany: Led from the back by example with a solid performance for the Citizens. Marshalled the defence well and won most of his headers and tackles. 7

Nicolas Otamendi: Got dragged out of position on a number of occasions by Marcus Rashford early in the first half but got less stress as the game wore on. Good leap to get a chance from a corner but missed the target. 6.5

Aleksandar Kolarov: Showed a willingness to get forward to provide support for the attack. Rarely needed to defend with City sending wave after wave of attacks at United. 7

Yaya Toure: Good with the ball at his feet, showing brilliant close control to glide past players. Powerful display from the Ivorian. 7

Fernandinho: Helped Man City dominate possession with neat and tidy passing, rarely losing the ball. Kept Pep Guardiola’s side in control and ticking over. 7.5

Raheem Sterling: Brilliant at receiving the ball and turning his man but could have done better with his shooting. 7

Kevin de Bruyne: Typically creative and energetic performance from the Belgium international. Created City’s best chance of the first half with a lovely ball across the face of goal for Sergio Aguero to knock into the post. City’s best player. 8

Leroy Sane: Struggled to find much space in behind a deep United backline but always caused panic when in possession of the ball. Not his best match in City colours. 6.5

Sergio Aguero: Missed early on with a guilt-edged chance at the near post by hitting the woodwork. Showed brilliant awareness to get into good positions and got his shots off time and again. Should have converted at least one chance. 7.5

Substitutes:

Jesus Navas (came on for Sane ’80) Put in a number of crosses to try to break the deadlock. 6.5

Willy Caballero (came on for Bravo ’79) Had nothing to do in his time on the pitch. 6

Gabriel Jesus (came on for Sterling ’86) Scored in his short time on the pitch but it was ruled out for offside. 6

 

Manchester United

David de Gea: Looked comfortable when called upon. Did well to hold a curling Aguero effort in the first period. 7

Antonio Valencia: A miss-kick inside his own penalty area early on in the second half led to a good chance for Aguero. Didn’t get up and down the wing as often as he would have liked. 6

Eric Bailly: Made a particularly eye-catching tackle on Leroy Sane in the first half as the German looked to pull the trigger. Won a number of crucial headers as United defended for most of the match. 6.5

Daley Blind: Looked panicked at the back on occasion. Managed to stay resilient to help United keep an important clean sheet under waves of pressure. 6

Matteo Darmian: Had a couple of shaky moments up against Raheem Sterling’s pace and was caught of position on a few occasions. Did enough. 6

Ander Herrera: Missed United’s best chance of the first half with a header at the back post that he failed to get on target. Lost his temper at times and didn’t show enough when in possession. 5.5

Michael Carrick: Made several crucial interceptions and tackles to keep City at bay. However, there was a lack of creativity in his play to get United on the move going forward. 6

Marouane Fellaini: Looked confused over his role at times. Didn’t help the defence out enough and couldn’t provide the attack with enough ammunition. Lost his head at the end by headbutting Aguero and was sent off. 5

Anthony Martial: A huge threat down the right for United early on, causing Zabaleta a host of problems. However, he struggled to have the same effect on the match in the second half. 6

Marcus Rashford: Constant menace to the City defence with his direct running, pace and skill for the first half an hour. Barely touched the ball second half. 6

Henrikh Mkhitaryan: Could maybe have done better to convert from Bravo’s poor scooped save. Generally ineffective in a supporting role for Martial and Rashford. 5.5

Substitutes:

Jesse Lingard (came on for Martial ’80) Did nothing to change the match. 5

Timothy Fosu-Mensah (came on for Mkhitaryan ’86) Did his job. 6

Ashley Young (came on for Rashford ’90+3) Not enough time to have an impact. 5