Stoke

2.79

• 
  4

  9

  3.00

  Thomas Sørensen

  Stoke’s cup goalkeeper returned in place of Asmir Begovic and didn’t have much to save in the first half but he was quick to claim any crosses into his penalty area. He could only watch as Silva’s curled effort crashed against the post midway through the first half. He could do nothing about Zabaleta's goal as the full-back had so much time to place his finish into the bottom corner.

• 
  2

  4

  3.00

  Andy Wilkinson

  Had a busy afternoon trying to cope with Milner initially and later in the game against Silva, the Spaniard particularly caused him problems but he was always able to block crosses into the penalty area. He was replaced by Whitehead in the 73rd minute.

• 
  2

  5

  3.00

  Robert Huth

  Loves the battle with a striker and he was in one against Dzeko and the lively Tevez. It was the Argentine who cause the most problems but the majority of the time he was able to stop or block him and limit the number of shots being fired at Sorensen.

• 
  2

  4

  3.00

  Ryan Shawcross

  Handled Dzeko well most of the time but there were a few occasions where the Bosnian got away from him and he was lucky not to be punished. His partnership with Huth is a tough one to break through

• 
  3

  6

  2.00

  Ryan Shotton Flop of the Match

  Despite being a doubt before kick-off, the full-back was fit enough to return and whilst he didn’t play badly up against Silva and latterly Kolarov there were a few occasions where slack passing and poor decision making nearly cost his team dearly.

• 
  1

  6

  2.00

  Glenn Whelan

  His game was overshadowed by a challenge early in the second half where he lunged two-footed into Javi Garcia and caught the Spaniard badly but he was not even reprimanded by Howard Webb for the tackle. He worked hard for his side in the middle of the pitch and did his best to break up the City attacks but really shouldn’t have been on the pitch after the 47th minute.

• 
  2

  4

  3.00

  Matthew Etherington

  He was Stoke’s best source of attacking play and the main threat to the Manchester City defence down the left. He had an ongoing battle with Zabaleta which was one of the games more interesting stories but he was still unable to create anything worthy of note for his strikers.

• 
  2

  4

  2.50

  Michael Kightly

  Did his best to run at Kolarov and Clichy but he was unable to deliver anything worthy of note for Jones to attack. He had a great chance early in the second half to test Pantilimon himself but he scuffed his shot and the keeper saved easily. He was replaced by Jerome in the 67th minute.

• 
  2

  4

  3.00

  Steven N'Zonzi

  He battled away against Barry, Garcia and Milner in the midfield and had a fair bit of success but there were times when all he could do was watch the ball being passed around him at speed. He wasn’t able to get forward as much as he would have liked and this limited the attacking play of Stoke.

• 
  2

  5

  3.00

  Jonathan Walters

  He had a very limited number of chances to even see goal let alone test Pantilimon as Stoke struggled to create anything in the final third. He worked the channels well and made some good runs off Jones but to no avail.

• 
  2

  4

  3.00

  Kenwyne Jones

  Led the line well against the City defence and despite winning a lot in the air he was unable to find Walters with his knock downs and didn’t have a shot on target to test Pantilimon. He was replaced by Crouch in the 73rd minute.

Substitutions

• 
  2

  4

  3.00

  Dean Whitehead

  Replaced Wilkinson in the 73rd minute and performed well at full-back, he stayed very close to Silva and stopped the Spaniard from causing many problems late on.

• 
  2

  4

  3.00

  Cameron Jerome

  Replaced Kightly in the 67th minute and his pace and willingness to run really gave Stoke a new dimension. He stretched the City back line but they were able to limit the danger he could cause.

• 
  1

  6

  2.50

  Peter Crouch

  Replaced Jones in the 73rd minute and had a clear sight of goal in the final 10 minutes as he rose to meet a cross from Shotton but he could only head over the bar.

Manchester City

3.08

• 
  18

  5

  3.00

  Costel Pantilimon

  The Romanian shot-stopper was making his fourth appearance for City this season and despite a shaky start he did well for his side clearing some dangerous crosses away from his goal. His handling improved in the second half although he had very little to deal with.

• 
  20

  6

  3.00

  Aleksandar Kolarov

  Back at full-back instead of Gael Clichy and he showed good discipline and wasn’t caught out of position as much as he has been in the past. He read the game well and handled Kightly well, with the winger hardly getting an opportunity to deliver the ball into the penalty area.

• 
  15

  5

  3.00

  Joleon Lescott

  The central defender returned to the starting line-up in place of the rested Matija Nastasic and had a good game alongside Kompany and stayed close to Stoke’s forwards.

• 
  36

  5

  3.00

  Pablo Zabaleta

  He loves to get forward down the right hand side and today was no different as he pushed Etherington further back with his runs, he wasn’t able to deliver anything of quality into Dzeko though. Defensively he was given a good work out by Etherington, having to stay alert to stop the winger racing past him and delivering into Jones. He capped a good display with the game's only goal, meeting a loose ball inside the penalty area and driving it into the bottom corner.

• 
  12

  9

  3.00

  Vincent Kompany

  City’s captain had an easy afternoon keeping tabs on Jones and Walters, he barely gave the either striker a kick as he showed off his reading of the game to step in when required. However his afternoon was cut short towards the end of the first half after he landed awkwardly on his ankle after challenging for a ball with Jones, he was replaced by Clichy.

• 
  33

  10

  4.00

  David Silva Top of the Match

  Keen to have the ball whenever he could and he was Manchester City’s real danger man in the first half as he kept popping all over the pitch for the visitors. His link up play was excellent and a quick piece of thinking nearly got him a goal but his curling first half effort crashed against the post.

• 
  15

  6

  3.00

  Gareth Barry

  He plays a very important role in the City side without ever really standing out, he helped protect the back four with Garcia and limited the number of attacks from N’Zonzi and Whelan for the home side.

• 
  14

  8

  3.00

  James Milner

  Eager to run at Wilkinson down the right hand side and he had a fair bit of success but his final ball initially lacked quality so Dzeko and Tevez were unable to capitalise. He moved into a more central role as City reshuffled when Kompany was substituted and he did well in the engine room of the side, providing drive when he needed to but finding a way through was tough.

• 
  16

  9

  3.50

  Javi García

  The Spaniard was making his fourth consecutive start for City and the run of games is clearly paying dividends after another impressive performance in the middle of the pitch. He always made himself available for a pass and kept the ball moving nicely with short passes into his team mates. His link-up play with Barry and Silva were particularly impressive and began a lot of City’s good moves in the match.

• 
  17

  22

  3.00

  Carlos Tévez

  Worked very hard up front in support of Dzeko and some of his runs off the defenders were excellent but he was just not able to get the ball under control inside the penalty area to really test Sorensen in the first half.

• 
  84

  5

  3.00

  Edin Dzeko

  He held the ball well for the visitors and gave problems to Shawcross and Huth, and had he had a bit more luck in the opening minutes he could have opened the scoring but his shot from a low Milner cross was deflected wide of goal.

Substitutions

• 
  14

  2

  3.00

  Gael Clichy

  He replaced Kompany towards the end of the first half and slotted into his normal left back position allowing Kolarov to move further forward. He handled the pace of Kightly well and when he faced Walters later in the game he restricted his chances well.

• 
  5

  11

  Scott Sinclair

  Replaced Tevez late on.

• 
  18

  19

  2.50

  Sergio Agüero

  Replaced Kolarov in the 62nd minute and added a bit more life to the City attack but he too struggled to get find a way to beat Sorensen.