Player ratings: Manchester City v Tottenham Hotspur
Player ratings: Manchester City v Tottenham Hotspur
Hart – Made up for allowing Distin’s header to sneak in on Saturday with a world class save to claw out a Pienaar header at the start of the second half. Has now equalled Nicky Weaver’s club record for the number of clean sheets in a season. 7
Richards – Great to see him back and Micah was a strong attacking threat in the opening minutes. Thereafter Rose got in too many crosses, but Micah helped Kompany in nullifying the Crouch aerial threat. Saved his best till last with an injury time tackle on Defoe. 8
Lescott – Arguably the difference between this fixture and the one last season. Where Crouch was able to prey on Kolo Toure and give Spurs’ attacks a focal point last year, this time around he got no change out of big Joleon. 8
Kompany – Back to his commanding best after a shaky second half at Goodison. There was a real determination not to concede in this game. 8
Zabaleta (Kolarov 57) – Made a couple of excellent early interceptions against Lennon, but the Tottenham flier got away a few times afterwards. Forced off with a bloodied nose thanks to a crack from Crouch but should be fit for the Cup Final thankfully. 7
De Jong – Committed as ever, but not able to get close enough to the elusive Modric. The passing and movement of Spurs meant he wasn’t able to dominate as he would have liked. 6
Milner – Started well enough in the middle and did a solid job when moved out wide. More involved than Johnson and may start on the flank at Wembley if Barry returns. 6
Y Toure – Not able to produce his best form in a game where we needed it. Often played deeper than of late, but rarely got the better of Modric and Sandro. 6
Silva (Tevez 83) – Once again an impressive first half was followed by a quieter second period. Elected to pass rather than shoot shortly after we’d taken the lead and needs to work on his finishing. 7
A Johnson (Vieira 66) – Didn’t give Rose enough to think about and the Spurs full-back put over more crosses than Adam. It’s to be hoped Wembley brings out a better performance. 6
Dzeko – Started ok, but could have done with scoring when set up by Silva after eleven minutes. Edin’s evening got steadily worse and he really needs a more consistent first touch. 6
Subs:
Kolarov – Despite fears to the contrary, Aleks did no worse against Lennon than Zabaleta. 6
Vieira – Arguably his most influential introduction as substitute. His presence enabled us to compete in midfield and push Spurs back at a time when we looked like being overrun. 8
Tevez – The game situation meant he came on later than he would have liked, but it was great to see him back. Set up Vieira and nearly scored himself. Appears to drag the team forward singlehandedly at times. 7
Man of the match: Silva had his moments, Kompany was resolute, but the difference between this year and last was Joleon Lescott quelling the Crouch threat.