Given – Held on well to one shot. Shay probably expended most energy berating his teammates for sloppy defending at corners. 7
Zabaleta – A chance to play 90 minutes in his rightful position and he was excellent. Tigerish in the tackle and put over a superb cross for the first goal. 8
Dunne – Started on left side of central defence and completely lost his man for the first goal. Subsequently returned to right hand side and had no further problems. 5
Toure – It’s a delight to see a City central defender bringing the ball out from the back and making telling passes. The injury didn’t look a major concern. 7
Bridge – Much improved on his defensive debacle at Rangers. Instigated the second goal with a fine run and pass to Bellamy. 7
De Jong – It’s not just the way he tackles that impresses, but the way he tackles and manages to lay the ball off to a teammate. 7
Barry – Brilliantly timed run for the first goal. Total composure in the first half alongside De Jong, then required to work overtime in the second when anchoring midfield. 8
Ireland – Some quality touches and passes, though he tends to get caught straying to far forward when playing in a central midfield two. 7
Wright-Phillips – An improved display on what has been a mixed pre-season. 6
Robinho – Didn’t always get the passes he was hoping for from his teammates, but kept going. 6
Bellamy – Just when it looked like nothing was coming off for the Welshman, up he popped with the second goal. 7
Subs:
Ben Haim – Aside from one needless concession of a corner this was an improved display by the Israeli. 6
Adebayor – This was his most languid performance so far, when few things he attempted came off. 6
Weiss – Provided entertainment for the crowd with some great trickery even if we don’t always get the final ball. 6
Tevez – Warmed up to a huge cheer, and came on to an even bigger one. There were some nice touches and a glimpse of the famed workrate. 7
Petrov – Wasn’t able to influence the game as much as he would have liked. 6
Man of the match: Barry.
Given – Pulled off a peach of a save prior to the second goal, when he was uncharacteristically caught in no-mans land. 6
Richards – Another game under his belt, and he now needs to forge a better understanding with Toure. 6
Toure – Arguably the pick of the defenders but that wasn’t saying a lot! 6
Dunne – Trademark challenges, but the Hughes method of defenders being left one on one with attackers still doesn’t suit him. 5
Bridge – Suffered a nightmare spell after half time with players continually running in behind him. 5
De Jong – Ventured further forward than we’re used to, but needed to be on his toes against Gers breaks. 6
Barry – A quieter game than those in South Africa, but still showed admirable composure. 6
Ireland – Box to box and took his goal superbly, though less effective once Barry and De Jong had departed. 7
Etuhu – Still doesn’t look good enough despite an improved display. 5
Robinho – At times he looked a class above everyone else even if not everything came off. 7
Adebayor – Some good touches and showed he can play lone striker role, even if his finishing is leaving a bit to be desired. 7
Subs:
Petrov – A cracking goal for the Bulgarian who seems to be benefitting from pre-season more than anyone. 8
Zabaleta – All over the place positionally, this was not his finest hour. 4
Bellamy – A frustrating night for the former Celtic man, typified by just failing to connect properly with a Petrov pass for what could have been the winner. 6
Weiss – A late cameo that produced one beautiful run and one brilliant pass. 7
Man of the match: Petrov.
Given – Required to make a couple of decent stops and saw the woodwork rattled before being beaten late on. 6
Richards – Didn’t look unduly weakened by swine flu and had a solid game. 7
Toure – The debutant fitted in well alongside Onuoha, but doesn’t give the height we’ll need. 7
Onuoha – Still having to play as left sided centre half, and still doing it admirably. 7
Garrido – Just doesn’t convince defensively and it needs to be addressed. 5
Wright-Phillips – An improvement on his last showing but still not on top of his game. 6
De Jong – In a 4-4-2 with Ireland as his partner, there’s a big onus on his defensive qualities and he was up to it. 7
Ireland – Playing as a box to box midfielder, he showed some good touches and managed an assist for the goal. 7
Robinho – A much improved display where he linked up well with those around him. 8
Bellamy – Injury worries over as the Welshman covered more ground than anyone. His intelligent running constantly caused problems. 8
Adebayor – Would have been disappointed not to get his first goals. He always shows for the ball, but needs to attack the box more. 7
Subs:
Ben Haim 46mins – He was looking every bit as good as Toure until a gaff cost the goal. 6
Zabaleta 46mins – Mr Versatile came on at left back to provide some defensive robustness and ended up at right back. 7
McGivern 65mins – Another appearance for the youngster, but playing at left-back he wasn’t able to link up as well going forward. 6
Weiss 69mins – Another cameo from the Czech youngster, combining brilliance and some naivity. 6
Petrov 77 – A late showing that thankfully enabled the blues to get an equaliser. 6
Man of the match: Bellamy
Given – A spectator for much of the match. Produced one decent save that resulted in the corner for the goal. 6
Vidal – Over eager to chase a ball into the box that lead to an unfortunate injury. 5
Dunne – Skipper looked comfortable prior to leaving the field for what has proved the briefest of tours. 6
Onuoha – Good to see him back and looking solid as ever. 6
Bridge – Got forward well and good to see some link up play with Petrov. 8
Barry – Quality. So comfortable that he looks like he’s played his whole career with City rather than Villa. 8
De Jong – Continues to form a solid barrier with De Jong that looks ready for the Premier League. 7
Wright-Phillips – Struggled to get involved and tended to lose possession when taking extra touches, notably in instigating the move that lead to the goal. 4
Adebayor – Eased himself into the game before showing some quality touches. Demonstrated his mobility in pulling wide to make himself available, then held the ball up better than we’re used to seeing from Benjani or Caceido. 7
Bellamy – Industrious with some good touches, but clearly needs to work on an understanding with Adebayor. 6
Petrov – His best game of the tour. The old quality looks to be back! 8
Subs:
Ben Haim – Came on at right back where he looked good, then moved to centre half and was solid enough till Onuoha went off. He would have wanted to get more purchase on the attempted clearing header that lead to the goal. 6
Zabaleta – Solid enough when he came on at right back in what’s been a busy tour for the Argentinian. Still lacks that bit of quality in the attacking side of his game. 6
Weiss – Has a tendandcy to try too much, but came as close as anyone in the latter stages to making the breakthrough. 6
Robinho – Came on for the last half hour in what looked like an attempt by City to appease the sponsors. Clearly not had a sufficient break since the Confederations Cup and played like he was still on his honeymoon. 5
Man of the match: Petrov.