Sunderland v Man City ratings: Sane and Silva masterful

Manchester City moved third in the Premier League table with a 2-0 win over relegation-threatened Sunderland.

Sergio Aguero and Leroy Sane scored either side of the break for Pep Guardiola’s side, while Jermain Defoe came closest for the hosts.

Sunderland ratings

Jordan Pickford: Couldn’t do anything about the goals but did make one or two fine stops. 6

Billy Jones: Had a couple of chances to score, and was solid until City’s second goal. 6

Bryan Oviedo: Did OK against a tough opponent in Raheem Sterling. 6

John O’Shea: Marshalled the back line well but did look behind the pace at times. 6

Lamine Kone: Did a good job of keeping Aguero quiet overall but was lost for first goal. 6

Seb Larsson: Was very effective in the first half against a strong side, but second half looked tired. 7

Darron Gibson: Did a good job of distributing until he was forced off injured. 6

Didier Ndong: Pressed high up and made life difficult for City. 7

Fabio Borini: Ran tirelessly but was feeding off scraps. Only chance came from a Defoe rebound. 6

Adnan Januzaj: Tried hard to unlock City but it just wasn’t happening. 6

Jermain Defoe: Was so close to the opening goal. Wasn’t afraid to drop deeper and bring the wingers in. 7

Substitutes

Jack Rodwell (for Gibson, 69): Didn’t make much impact against his old club. 5

Wahbi Khazri (for Januzaj, 82): Ineffective, even if introduced too late. 5

Manchester City ratings

Willy Caballero: Made a good save from Larsson, and once again showed why he is so important to City’s style. 7

Bacary Sagna: Looked a bit flustered at time but more comfortable in Sunderland’s half. 6

John Stones: Better performance from Stones, with good distribution and decision making. 7

Gael Clichy: Did well to control Januzaj and looked like he was out to prove a point. 7

Aleksandar Kolarov: His passing ability is a huge bonus for City, and we saw it again. Plus a solid defensive showing. 7

Yaya Toure: His run and pass led to the opener. An energetic performance that died out a bit towards the end. 7

Fernandino: Grew into the game and became part of the reason City seized control. 7

Leroy Sane: Second half he and Silva looked a class above everyone else on the pitch, and got a deserved goal. 8

David Silva: Like Sane, his second half performance was wonderful to watch. Totally controlled the game. 8

Raheem Sterling: Was awful in the first half until the goal. Not his best outing but still got involved. 6

Sergio Aguero: Worked hard and took his chance well in the first half. Also dropped in to help attacks. 8

Substitutes

Kevin De Bruyne (for Toure, 78): Not enough time to influence. 6

Nolito (for Sterling, 82): N/A

Fabian Delph (for Sane, 89): N/A