Man City player ratings as Bernardo Silva and Phil Foden promise superb seasons ahead

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  • Bernardo Silva

    How do you follow up a near-perfect domestic season? Premier League champions Manchester City certainly set about it the right way in the Community Shield on Sunday, putting Chelsea to the sword in a 2-0 victory that could easily have been more emphatic.

    Dead-eye Sergio Aguero brought up his 200th goal for the club in the process of scoring his double, while Bernardo Silva and Phil Foden were just two more stand-outs for Pep Guardiola’s men.

    There were some worrying performances from a Chelsea perspective and, given that Maurizio Sarri has barely been at the club for three weeks, it seems that the Italian has a long road ahead of him to imprint his philosophy.

    Check out our Man City ratings below:

    MAN CITY (4-2-3-1)

    Claudio Bravo – One comedy moment when he let the ball sail over his head. A reminder of just how crucial that Ederson buy was. 6

    Kyle Walker – Young Hudson-Odoi got very little joy down his flank, as the England defender forced him to cut back inside. Solid return. 7

    John Stones – Could this be the season he finally establishes himself as top dog in Pep’s eyes? Wonderful interception sparked Aguero’s second. 7

    Aymeric Laporte – Was deceived by one Morata run but apart from that, snuffed out an in truth anemic Chelsea attack. 6

    Benjamin Mendy – Gets a bonus point for looking so sturdy after a horror injury robbed him of almost an entire season. The attacking will come. 7

    Phil Foden – The ‘Stockport Iniesta’ showed Andres-esque verve. He set up the opener and Aguero should have done better with another exquisite through ball. 8

    Fernandinho – A little sluggish on his return from Brazil duty though fared better than the man who was meant to replace him in Jorginho. 6

    Bernardo Silva – He could prove the most important Silva for City this year. His assist in the second-half counter aside, he sliced Jorginho to ribbons. 9

    Riyad Mahrez – By no means near his best but City’s record signing flashed enough to show he should settle very nicely into a Sky Blue shirt. 6

    Leroy Sane – Given he had the entire summer off the German was strangely subdued. Needs to buck up ideas with Mahrez and Sterling for competition. 5

    Sergio Aguero – There’s no one you’d rather have on the end of a counter-attack. Two clinical goals, missed chance for a third. 8

    SUBSTITUTES

    Ilkay Gundogan (45′) – Bernardo went wide to replace the ineffectual Sane and Gundogan helped smother the Chelsea midfield further. 7

    Gabriel Jesus (68′) –  Lively in the last 10 minutes. But is he really Pep’s favoured striking option over Aguero? 6

    Brahim Diaz (76′) – Showed Chelsea defence a blur of feet before hitting side netting. Had a further chance blocked. Another promising talent. 7

    Vincent Kompany (80′) – Offered a few crunching tackles before hoisting the trophy aloft. First of many? 6

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