Blue Days

Taylor – A lot better than his last first team appearance in Abu Dhabi. This time the early rush off the line brought about an important save rather than a penalty. A great tip over in the second half was the pick of the rest. 7

Onuoha – Typical peformance of a centre-half doing a job at right-back. Solid defensively, little to offer going forward – with the honourable exception of a very coolly taken goal at an important time. 7

Roberto Mancini rang the changes but kept the balance right to see City avoid a potential upset thanks to four sumptuous goals. Sylvinho outshone his compratiot with a stunning strike, though Robinho managed to put all the speculation aside and displayed his skills in a good performance. Just don’t expect the press pack to acknowledge it.