Player ratings: Manchester City v Blackpool

Hart – Produced one acrobatic save when the game was goalless, and continued to demonstrate his shot stopping in the second half. Also sharp out of his area to save Lescott’s blushes following an underhit backpass. 7

Boateng – A slow start had Mancini fuming. Grew into the game but needs to avoid the Kolarov tendency of bombing forward too early. 6

Kolarov (Zabaleta 60) – Beaten in the opening minutes to the manager’s consternation and hauled off when Phillips looked to have the beating of him. Still looking slow on the turn, though Aleks timed his tackles well. 6

Kompany – Defended the penalty area well, but this was one of the few games when Vincent’s passing was off. Needs to be back to his best for the Arsenal game. 7

Lescott – Once again demonstrated his defensive skills. Interesting to note he completed 56 out of 57, mostly short, passes as Mancini reduces his Moyes induced tendency to hoof. Will be interesting to see if he starts at the Emirates. 7

De Jong – Not able to hold the midfield as well as usual with Blackpool piling players forward. Still produced a competitive performance and played some nice passes. 7

Barry – A little fresher after being rested on Wednesday and did well to come across and cover Kolarov’s attacking forays. We needed to see more of his composed passing during the latter stages. 6

Y Toure (Vieira 85) – Terriffic when he was running with the ball, less impressive when he wasn’t. Lost possession too easily at times and lacked movement when required to close down opponents. A tired showing. 6

A Johnson – Scored what proved to be the vital goal. Put in another decent shift even if it didn’t always reach the heights of the Villa game. 7

Silva (Milner 64) – Once again pulled the strings beautifully. Put one chance just wide and the conversion of opportunities is the only thing needed for his game at the moment. It’s to be hoped he’s fit for Arsenal. 7

Tevez – Rarely can one player’s finishing have done so much to keep the opposition in the game! Carlos may be the Premier League’s top scorer of 2010, but he could still be more clinical. 6

Subs:

Zabaleta – Even our best defensive full-back found Phillips a handful. 7

Milner – Did an excellent job assisting defensively, and attacked intelligently, picking out Tevez with one excellent pull-back from the byline. 7

Vieira – Good to see his fresh legs come on and help close the game out. 6

Man of the match: Tiredness took it’s toll on several players, so for the goal and a decent showing it goes to Adam Johnson.