Europa League player ratings: Red Bull Salzburg v Manchester City

Hart – While not having to make any saves, Joe needed to be on his toes at set pieces. His judgement was good with a couple of punches, then letting his defence take care of the rest. 6

Zabaleta – A welcome run out for the Argentine. Solid defensively and he took up good positions in attack to provide width. As usual Pablo finished the game in a different position to which he started – this time left-back. 7.

Bridge (Boyata 67) – A timely return given the injury to Lescott. Whether he’s quite match fit is open to debate as some of the passing was tentative and positional play could have been better. Still managed to get forward and supply the cross for the opening goal. This is what we were missing from Joleon. The ice strapped to his thigh at the end was a worry we could do without. 6

K Toure – Kolo’s currently in his best form for a couple of years and the partnership with Kompany is starting to resemble the one he enjoyed with Sol Campbell – and they went a season unbeaten. Once again Kolo was mopping up danger with timely interceptions and well judged tackles.

Kompany – Looking increasingly settled at centre-back. His game used to feature the odd mistake but these have been ironed out recently and once again Vincent was magnificent. His dominance in the air is vital alongside Kolo. 7

Barry – Stationed at the left corner of our diamond midfield Gareth was able to show his defensive and offensive qualities. He looked fresher after starting on the bench last weekend and the European fixtures suit his pace. 7

Y Toure – Never seemed to hit his stride though when he did move forward there were some outstanding balls into the box. Yaya looks as though he’s yet to hit top gear. Hopefully he’ll find it by the time we play Chelsea. 6

Silva (Wright-Phillips 83) – Scoring his first goal for the club should hopefully make him feel more at home. Playing at the tip of the diamond with two strikers to feed, David started the game excellently, playing incisive passes and linking up with his teammates. He did drift out of the game for periods, and there’s still more to come, but this was by far his best showing so far. Should have bagged a second goal just before halt-time. 7

de Jong – Took a hold of the game from the start and dominated his area of the pitch. With Nigel in this kind of form, the other midfielders have the opportunity to show their creative sides. Reminded us of how we missed his mobility against Blackburn last weekend. 7

Jo – Playing alongside Tevez and sometimes as the furthest man forward, it was a relief to see him socre. There was also the lay-off for Silva’s strike and there could/should have been a couple more goals. Jo doesn’t win enough in the air for a player his size and there were to many loose touches. However with Adebayor and Balotelli injured, Mancini can feel justified in selecting the Brazilian. 6

Tevez (Vieira 79) – Still struggling to find his scoring touch. The one decent shot he had resulted in Jo’s goal. When he’s misfiring we look impotent and this is a concern. At least the link up play with Silva offered promise and he looked fitter than last weekend. 6

Subs:

Boyata – A surprise to see Dedryck play at right-back. Not a natural attacker but his defensive play was superbly composed once again. 7

Vieira – Came on to add yet more physicality to our midfield and close the game out. 6

Wright-Phillips – Managed a couple of touches in his few minutes, but had little opportunity to shine. 6

Man of the match: While the attack flickered, the defence was solid throughout, so it goes to Kolo Toure.