Player ratings: Manchester City v Chelsea

Hart – With brilliant protection in front of him, Joe picked up another clean sheet with a minimum of fuss. A few straightforward saves combined with better judgement in coming off his line than we sas in the Blackburn game. 7

Boyata (Boateng, 88) – Outstanding, bearing in mind he played a full match on Wednesday night, and isn’t a right-back. Mancini showed real faith in the teenager by not giving him obvious cover with a Milner type player in front. Chelsea kept working Dedryck and he kept coming up with the answers. 9

K Toure – Another outstanding display. Surely Kolo is going to get some recognition this time. Repeatedly came across to help out Dedryck as Chelsea sought to overload our right flank. 9

Kompany – Outstanding once more as Drogba was subdued and eventually replaced. What better compliment can there be? Dominant in the air and even managed some excellent passes out of defence. 9

Zabaleta – Just the kind of game Pablo relishes, where defending is to the fore. Made countless interceptions to keep the Chelsea forwards at bay. Thankfully just the one reckless slide that brought his inevitable booking. 8

De Jong – With both sides selecting powerhouse midfields, Nigel was the player who emerged dominant. Even Essien appeared to give up, being reduced to hopeful long range shots. Nigel’s neat and tidy passing also kept us ticking over when in possession. 9

Barry – As good a game as Gareth has had in a City shirt. Didn’t get forward a huge amount, but his passing and composure was crucial in alleviating the pressure. Another who never let Chelsea get a hold of midfield. 9

Y Toure – There’s still the sense of more to come from Yaya, and it was interesting that after the goal he seemed to push further forward. With one run he looked like he was going to go through the whole Chelsea side only to lose control at the last. 8

Milner – A performance to rank alongside his Liverpool debut. Put in some decent crosses from open play and we need someone to try and get on the end of them. Did a great job at tracking Ivanovic in an absorbing personal duel. 8

Silva (A Johnson, 78) – Looks like David is getting up to speed with the Premier League. Inevitably in such a tactical encounter his creativity could only shine sporadically, but this was a big improvement on his Spurs debut. Threatened to unlock Chelsea several times, made a vital decoy run for the goal, and was tigerish in his attempts to win back possession. 8

Tevez (Adebayor, 86) – Often isolated, but to extent we saw in the first half against Wigan. The captain fought tooth and nail against league’s strongest defence. Never gave Terry and co a moments rest before showing a clinical eye to claim the victory. Chelsea really are his favourite opponents. 9

Subs:

A Johnson – Saw surprisingly little of the ball when he came on. Did nothing wrong mind, and gave Ashley Cole something else to think about. 7

Adebayor – Good to see him back and showed skill and commitment in helping to close the game out. Nearly earnt a penalty and could have set up a second in the final minute. 7

Boateng – Great to see Jerome make his debut and he was all smiles at the end. Let’s hope it’s like this every week for the German international. 7

Man of the match: Vincent Kompany.

Preview: Manchester City v Chelsea
Verdict: Manchester City 1 Chelsea 0

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