Man City v Palace ratings: Deadly trio run riot for Guardiola

Joe Williams

Kevin de Bruyne, Leroy Sane and David Silva were excellent as Manchester City destroyed Crystal Palace 5-0 in the Premier League on Saturday.

Manchester City

Willy Caballero: Showed good agility to keep out a header from Christian Benteke near the end of the first half. Didn’t have a lot to do. 7

Fernandinho: Caught out of position on a number of occasions in an unfamiliar right-back role. Got forward really well to help City start attacks. 6.5

Vincent Kompany: Took a booking to stop a dangerous attack through Wilfried Zaha. Unbelievable finish inside the area to put City two goals ahead. 7.5

Nicolas Otamendi: Solid performance from the Argentinian and never looked overly troubled. Made a superb tackle to cover for his fellow defenders when Wilfried Zaha looked through on goal in the second half. Got himself on the scoresheet. 8

Gael Clichy: Quiet performance from the Frenchman but went about his duties well. 6

Yaya Toure: The Ivorian was a platform for City to build their attacks from. Neat and tidy when called upon and kept them ticking over. 7

Raheem Sterling: A really energetic and pacy performance to help City to victory. Took his goal really well, let the ball bounce across his body before producing a crisp finish. 8

Kevin de Bruyne: The architect of a lot of City’s best attacking moves – a real livewire. Picked out Kompany with a lovely pull back for City’s second goal and his drifted cross was converted by Otamendi for their fourth. Scored the third goal with an effort from the edge of the area. 8.5

David Silva: Wonderful, controlled finish to open the scoring for City. Covered every blade of grass to keep his side on the front foot. 8.5

Leroy Sane: Awesome dribbling to beat Palace players time after time. Got himself into more dangerous positions than any other player but should have scored more. Flashes of brilliance from the young German. 8

Gabriel Jesus: Teed up De Bruyne for their third goal but probably the least effective of City’s forward players. Showed some clever touches and good running. 7

Substitutes

Pablo Zabaleta (came on for Silva 68′) Got involved in some late attacks. Had one shot that was saved comfortably and produced a lovely headed assist for Sterling’s goal. 7

Jesus Navas (came on for Sane 84′) Didn’t have enough time to make a difference. 6

Kelechi Iheanacho (came on for Jesus 84′) Got involved but had little impact. 6

Crystal Palace

Wayne Hennessey: Pulled off a number of good saves, denying Leroy Sane a few times. Should have done better with De Bruyne’s goal that put City 3-0 up. 7

Joel Ward: Terrorised by Sane and Sterling all game as they switched flanks. Found it tough to handle the pace of the duo. 4

Martin Kelly: Poor headed clearance gifted Silva opportunity to open the scoring for City after just two minutes. A miserable afternoon for the Palace defender. 4

Patrick van Aanholt: Made a good block on the line from a Sterling shot in the first half. Overran along with the rest of the Palace defence as City ran riot. 5

Jeffrey Schlupp: Struggled with the creativity and touches of class from City’s forward line. 5

James McArthur: Anonymous in the middle of the pitch and spent most of the match camped just outside Palace’s box. 5

Luka Milivojevic: Couldn’t help his side grab a foothold in the match as City’s midfield controlled the game. 4.5

Jason Puncheon: When he did get the ball he was wasteful in possession and showed little creativity. 5.5

Wilfried Zaha: Looked the most likely player to make something happen for Palace. Had the beating of Fernandinho at the end of the first period. 6.5

Christian Benteke: Had Palace’s best chance in the first half but his downward header was saved. Isolated up front for much of the game. 6

Andros Townsend: Whipped in a terrific cross to create Palace’s best chance of the first half for Benteke. Couldn’t get into the match. 5.5

Substitutes

Chung-Yong Lee (came on for Townsend 57′) Won a free-kick in a good area when he was brought down, but did little to change the match. 6

Mathieu Flamini (came on for Milivojevic 67′) Couldn’t change the flow of the match. 5.5

Damien Delaney (came on for Kelly 76′) Fairly solid for the time he was on the pitch. 5.5