FA Cup player ratings: Manchester City v Notts County

Hart – Normally copes well with a player in front of him at corners. Not this time as Joe came and flapped a couple of times. Produced a top quality diving tip-over in the second half – one for the cameras. 6

Richards – Not quite so solid defensively as of late. Otherwise this was another powerful performance down the right flank, continuing his good form. 7

K Toure – Given back the armband and produced a very casual start to the game. Poor passing and a lack of sharpness enabled County to press us back in the early stages. Kolo was the biggest culprit. 6

Lescott – Solid and reliable defensively. Worked with Vieira in attacking corners to give the Frenchman the space to score. 7

Zabaleta – Back to left-back and a typically commited performance. The presence of Kolarov limited his attacking play. 6

Silva – One of the few whose passing was consistently good throughout the game. Only surprise was that he didn’t have a hand in the goals. 7

Y Toure (Barry 81 mins) – Took a while to get going and the central partnership with Vieira was painfully lacking in dynamism defensively. Yaya is playing a lot of games and could do with a rest to keep him sharp. 6

Vieira – Caught with the ball more times than we care to mention, then popped up with the two goals that saw us through. Patrick is a great pro but whether he can see us through the latter stages of the cup competitions is questionable. 7

Kolarov – Great delivery from set pieces caused County no end of problems. In open play it was the opposite as Aleks showed again he is no substitute for Adam Johnson on the flanks. 6

Dzeko – The goal was welcome, but the moment of real quality was the touch to control the ball and quick pass to release Tevez for the third goal. Earlier he had struggled with his touch as numerous passes failed to come off – only 22 out of 41 were completed successfully.

Balotelli (Tevez 60mins) – Didn’t see much of the ball as we struggled early on. Initially looked sharp and dangerous when he did, in contrast to Dzecko. Then the temper went and Mario finally received a knock-out blow to ensure he missed the fun of the latter stages. 6

Subs:

Tevez – Timed his entrance perfectly. The second goal had just gone in and County were starting to tire. Made the most of the situation with a goal and an assist. 7

Barry – Came on to give Yaya a breather. Hopefully the rest on the bench will leave Gareth fresher for the coming matches. 6

Man of the match: David Silva.