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Player Ratings: Manchester City 3-2 Liverpool (Carabao Cup)

Published:

22:26

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Manchester City’s return to competitive action proved to be a thrilling encounter with rivals Liverpool at the Etihad Stadium.

The home side created plenty of chances and should have scored more, but twice Jurgen Klopp’s men took City apart with ease to score punishing equalisers.

Erling Haaland’s opener was vintage from the Norwegian, but City switched off to surrender the lead to Fabio Carvalho.

In the second half, Mohamed Salah cancelled out a Riyad Mahrez goal in a matter of seconds.

The winner would eventually come through Nathan Aké, who got on the end of a Kevin de Bruyne cross to give the home side the lead and – eventually – send City through to the quarter-finals.

Here’s how we rated the players…

Stefan Ortega – 6

As eventful as the match proved to be, Ortega didn’t have an awful lot to do. This was, admittedly, partly down to some horrible misses from Darwin Nuñez. The German couldn’t do much about either goal against him.

Rico Lewis – 7

A seriously impressive talent who’s getting better with every passing game.

Lewis against Liverpool was energetic, combative and comfortable stepping into midfield. The question now has to be how many opportunities he’ll get in a squad with Kyle Walker and Joao Cancelo, but the tools for a future at the club are clearly all there.

Manuel Akanji – 6

A match of good and bad moments. His initial excellent form has clearly levelled off into something a bit more malleable, but he wasn’t the worst of the backline today and we shouldn’t forget his good games earlier in the season.

Aymeric Laporte – 6

Absolutely rinsed for pace by Darwin Nuñez, which is hardly the crime of the century.

Nathan Aké – 7

Missed a golden chance from one De Bruyne cross before putting City ahead with another. Back from a solid World Cup with the Netherlands, Aké is now probably our best left-back on current form and I expect him to start the Leeds game.

Rodri – 6

Top work on the most part from the Spaniard, who created the Mahrez goal with one of the best passes of the game. Rightly booked for a very strange reaction to a Fabinho challenge in the second half.

Ilkay Gundogan – 4

Well off his best, with several poor touches and stray passes to concede possession. We’ll put it up to rust and hope for a more characteristic showing after Christmas.

Kevin De Bruyne – 9 (Man of the Match)

Just magnificent. The Belgian looked good against Girona but that was only a sign of things to come.

Assists for the first and third City goals were excellent, but De Bruyne’s best cross of the game wasn’t even scored – a sensational ball to Aké in the second half that Kelleher somehow saved. In this form, the #17 will soon be turning his attention back to that Premier League assist record.

Cole Palmer – 7

The youngster’s technical quality is plain to see, particularly when he’s dribbling, and this was one of his best displays for the club.

At the moment he’s still panicking a bit too often at the crucial moments, but there’s no reason to think that won’t sort itself out with some time and patience. Consistent output is the next – and hardest – step.

Erling Haaland – 7

Scored a typical Haaland goal after just ten minutes, stealing in ahead of the Liverpool defenders to bundle the ball past Kelleher. There were also a few rusty moments, like the early miss and some poor touches, but the important thing is that he looks ready for Leeds.

Riyad Mahrez – 5

Mixed feelings, because the Algerian scored a fantastic goal to kick off the second half, but was nowhere near good enough for the rest of the game. On current evidence, it’s hard to argue that Riyad deserves to keep his place in the starting XI even if he does pop up with more goals than Grealish or Palmer.

Substitutues:

John Stones – 6

Settled in well.

Phil Foden – 6

Tested the goalkeeper and looked lively.

Jack Grealish – N/A

Bernardo Silva –N/A

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