Man City v Chelsea player ratings

Branislav Ivanovic’s goal gave Chelsea a stunning and potentially crucial victory in the title race. Here’s how we rated the players in their 1-0 victory at Manchester City.

Petr Cech: 8
Two superb saves, most notably in the closing stages when a sensational reaction save saw him get his arms up just in time to keep out Stevan Jovetic’s fierce dipping strike.

Branislav Ivanovic: 9
Even disregarding the stunning winner, he was superb. Bombed forward relentlessly, as was part of the Jose Mourinho masterplan, won important headers in all areas of the pitch and defended brilliantly.

Gary Cahill: 9
Awesome defensive display. Dominant in the air and measured and unruffled in everything he did on the deck. Was also desperately unlucky not to score with a second-half header.

John Terry: 8
Quietly terrific. Never looked flustered, and importantly used the ball superbly which was vital in relieving the pressure and setting up breaks.

Cesar Azpilicueta: 8
Solid, dependable and made a couple of crucial challenges. Covered his centre-backs effectively and was positionally sound.

Nemanja Matic: 9
An incredibly impressive full Premier League debut. More than matched the bullying figure of Yaya Toure and showed his undoubted class as well as more obvious muscle and presence. Almost scored with a rasping strike that hit the post, one of three Blues shots that hit the woodwork.

David Luiz: 8
Worked wonderfully well alongside Matic. Knew when to push on and when to sit in and did not make a bad call in possession or without possession. Mature and measured.

Ramires: 8
As energetic as ever but, harsh as it is, lacked composure in some big moments. Still a key piece in Chelsea’s team jigsaw though and his dynamism as part of a more defensive midfield trio enabled Eden Hazard and Willian to cause havoc.

Willian: 9
Has been consistently brilliant in recent weeks and did not disappoint at the Etihad. Superb on the break, defended unselfishly and covered a phenomenal amount of ground.

Eden Hazard: 10
The complete display. Majestic throughout. Incredible strength and resilience, barely wasted a pass and able to create time and space even when it looked impossible. Made numerous chances and just looks like a player on top of his game.

Samuel Eto’o: 8
Should have scored with his late first-half effort that cracked against the post but showed his nous and class. Retained possession at important times, used the ball well and set up a number of dangerous counter-attacks.

Manchester City:
Missed Sergio Aguero and Fernandinho and were largely nullified by Mourinho’s tactics. Struggled to find space against the protecting midfield three and struggled to deal with Chelsea out wide on the break. Piled some pressure on in the last 15 minutes but were outthought by a hugely impressive Chelsea display.

Man of the match: Hazard

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