Everton player ratings

Given 6.
Not to blame for either goal and wasn't tested much besides. Looked more assured on crosses but slightly wobbly on distribution.

Richards 6.
Enthusiastic enough going forward and some crunching tackles early on, and actually kept Pienaar quite quiet. Positional awareness still liable to leave us exposed on the right though. Short, flat passes to player in right-wing position often put City on the back foot.

Toure 6.
Looked quite nervous at times and won only a few of the aerial tussles with Saha. Was actually quite an asset going forward with his runs, would be interesting to see if he could cut it in midfield - was signed by Wenger as a right-winger apparently.

Kompany 6.
Not as good as recent performances but, bar a couple of wobbles and some slightly shaky distribution, stood up to the test.

Zabaleta 7.
The only player along the back line who looked forward with conviction - Everton did limit City's options for a pass from defence, but it was only really Zab who worked at it.

De Jong 6.
Harried well til the end but as Eveton managed to place the creative burden on him and Barry, he struggled to influence the game in that way as it is not really what he is there for.

Barry 6.
Had a good first half, but he, like De Jong, struggled to break Everton down in the second.

Ireland 5.
A bit mixed during his time on, but was the man capable of unlocking a strong Everton resistance - and his injury cost City.

Johnson 6.
Unable to influence the game too much and withdrawn shortly after half-time.

Bellamy 5.
A deep lying Everton defence cut off the threat of his pace and, as much as I hate to say it, was played well by Neville.

Tevez 7.
Tried many times to make it happen on his own. Excellent workrate as ever, and managed to carve out some opportunities for himself. Struggled with the sheer size of the Everton defence though.

Substitutes:

Wright-Phillips (on for Ireland, 41mins) 5.
Struggled to influence the game. Touch was fairly poor and lack of targets meant his crossing was mainly in vain.

Santa Cruz (on for Johnson, 57mins) 5.
Increasingly used as a target as City ran out of ideas and patience, but was well-matched by Distin and Jagielka in aerial battles.

Vieira (on for Richards, 75mins) 6.
A fairly uneventful fifteen minutes for him.


My man of the match: Tevez.