Player ratings: Manchester City v Scunthorpe United

Given – An early save tested his alertness. From then on there was little for Shay to do. No chance for the goal, and Scunthorpe’s other big chance was straight at him fortunately. 6

Zabaleta – Unusually he looked better going forward than defending in the first half. Nearly cost us a second goal with an uncharacteristic failure to win a 50-50, but made up for it with a peach of a cross for our crucial second goal. 6

Lescott – Running away from the man with the ball in the build up to the Scunthorpe goal didn’t look to clever. Scoring seemed to lift his game in a way that implies he could be a confidence player. 6

Kompany – Imperious for the most part, except when completely AWOL for the Scunthorpe goal! At times he oozed class for a centre-half and was a more than able deputy for Kolo Toure (the goal excepted). 7

Sylvinho – Very tidy and effective, as you’d expect from someone with Arsenal, Barcelona and Brazil on their CV. Scunthorpe didn’t ask to many questions of him defensively, but he slotted in so well that it wouldn’t be a worry to see him deputise for Bridge. 7

De Jong – A surprising choice for captain, but he seemed to relish the roll, helping us to establish an early dominance. Hughes saw fit to leave him on for the full 90 minutes and Scunthorpe didn’t get a look-in during the second half. 7

Barry – A steady performance that left the headlines to others. Nearly sneaked onto the scoresheet with a couple of late runs into the penalty area. 7

Wright-Phillips – Always involved and made some excellent runs into dangerous positions. Once again the final ball wasn’t always there and it was a shame he didn’t make it onto the scoresheet. 6

Ireland – A brilliant start which had the crowd cheering his return. A few to many of those defence splitting passes were intercepted, but his failure to convert a final chance can forgiven. He was all set to come off with a knock he’d picked up earlier. 7

Tevez – Once again the Argentine was sharp, busy and looking fully fit. Good to see him score as his finishing hasn’t always convinced. 8

Santa Cruz – Scored his first goal and completed his first 90 minutes for the club. Roque also showed good technique and tidy lay-offs in a performance that demonstrated his return to full fitness. 8

Subs:

Weiss – Lit up the final half-hour with skill, pace and directness. He appeared to be on a mission to score, but in the end had to settle with an assist for the Tevez goal. 8

Johnson – His composure and passing threatened to out-Barry the man he replaced! The goal was pure Michael Johnson though. Of all the good things about this match, his cameo was probably the best. 8

Benjani – Didn’t have the impact of the other returning players, in that he wasn’t able to get into the game. 5

Man of the match: Roque Santa Cruz for his excellent all round play in the first half in particular, and scoring the most important goal.