Man City v Chelsea player ratings

Carlos Tevez’s late goal completed a miserable afternoon for Chelsea at the Eithad Stadium. Here’s how we rated the players in their 2-0 defeat against Manchester City.

Petr Cech: 7
Made a couple of excellent early stops as City piled forward in the first 20 minutes. Only occasionally tested after that and had no chance with either goal.

Branislav Ivanovic: 6
A steady defensive display but nothing more. Limited in his forward excursions in the first half.

Gary Cahill: 7
Solid and made a couple of superb interceptions and blocks. His ability to adapt his game to his centre-back partner should not be underestimated.

David Luiz: 6
Defended well without the ball but was guilty of some risky passes out of defence and was too often careless when he had time and space as he brought the ball forward. Typical Luiz display: worrying, brilliant, entertaining and careless from minute to minute.

Ashley Cole: 6
Like Ivanovic, was starved of possession for most of the first half but defensively sound and more influential after the break

John Mikel Obi: 5
Was tidy and used the ball well, but needed to be swifter with and without the ball. Was caught in possession in dangerous areas on a couple of occasions and was too easily beaten for the crucial opening goal.

Frank Lampard: 5
A decent enough penalty but Joe Hart guessed right. His personal performance is often sacrificed in the current system and he was crowded out and rushed by the hosts’ tireless attacking. Not his day but his effort was faultless.

Ramires. 6
Plenty of energy as ever and unlucky when breaking forward at times. But the Brazilian lacked true quality on the rare occasions when Chelsea looked like creating a chance. Never stopped running though.

Juan Mata: 5
His dead-ball delivery was woeful on at least three occasions, played one or two uncharacteristic sloppy passes and generally had a rare off day. There were one or two glimpses of his class, as you would expect from such a talented player, but by his own magnificent standards, he was poor.

Eden Hazard: 7
Chelsea’s biggest threat before the break but was much quieter after the interval. Always looked capable of creating a goal.

Demba Ba: 7
A willing runner and his physical presence was always a nuisance to the home defence. Cleverly won the penalty and seemed to have the measure of Kolo Toure despite limited opportunities.

Victor Moses: 7
Looked lively and dangerous when he came on.

Oscar: 6
Did well, but wasn’t able to make a difference as the game became stretched.

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