A disastrous evening for Pep Guardiola‘s City saw the Premier League champions-elect succumb to a 3-0 drubbing at the hands of a rampant Liverpool in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals.
All of his sublimely talented squad put in sub-par performances in the first half when they were hassled out of the game by Jurgen Klopp’s superbly executed “gegen-pressing”. So poor were City they failed to get one shot on target in the entire 90 minutes.
Here are our playing ratings:
Manchester City
Ederson – 6: Not at fault for either of the three goals but nor did he pull off the de Gea like heroics that may have saved City.
Kyle Walker – 5: Surprisingly kept quiet by Andy Robertson in the first half, at fault for first goal. Came into the game more in the second half.
Nicolas Otamendi – 5: At fault for Liverpool’s first and third goals but tried hard to redeem himself pushing forward regularly without the accuracy that was required.
Vincent Kompany – 6: Seemed off the pace and shellshocked in the first half. More solid in the second half with Salah gone but not his best night.
Aymeric Laporte – 4: A superb tackle on Oxlade-Chamberlain kept the score at 3-0 and he was a calm presence in the City backline the whole night.
Ilkay Gundogan – 4: Played out of position on the left and was anonymous in the first period as Liverpool ran riot. Substituted on 56 mins for Sterling.
Fernandinho – 5: Lost Sadio Mane for the third goal and was smothered in the midfield, not his usual self either in terms of distribution or presence.
David Silva – 6: Worked hard during the night without getting that magic touch or assist and missed a great chance late on.
Kevin De Bruyne – 6: Tackled out of the match in the first half by Milner but started to exert some influence in the second period.
Gabriel Jesus – 5: Unseen in the first half but came into more in the second half. Frustrated much of the night and inaccurate in front of goal.
Leroy Sane – 4: A sloppy start with missed chances and a loose pass leading to Liverpool’s first goal. More ball in the second half without much improvement.
Subs
Raheem Sterling – 8: Booed relentlessly but was dangerous down the right and created headaches for Robertson. Among City’s best.
