Written by : Jonathan Lee

A match which had all the look of a training game for the hosts attack against defence, with us only touching the ball 6 times in the opposition area – and not a single save for the City keeper to make.  It really is the time now for a couple of players to step up and drag us out of this.

Fabianski 6 – made a couple of smart saves and possibly unfortunate with a slight deflection for City’s second, oddly not especially overworked despite the amount of attacks launched by the home team; worryingly he was apparently Swansea’s best player when they got relegated

Fredericks 5.5 – good recovery tackle early on from a Jesus break, but lost his man for City’s first and then taken off with what looked a worrying shoulder injury

Diop 6 – Bambi on ice first ten minutes but thereafter tried his best in the face of a relentless onslaught, not at fault for either goal

Ogbonna 6 – very lucky not to be penalised for a tug back on Aguero first half, generally steady again and at one point ended up pushing forward across the halfway line

Cresswell 6.5 – one of the few players for whom the game seemed to matter, did his best to repel City’s attacks but often found himself outnumbered

Rice 7 – the only player that really looked like he might make things happen, a couple of stray passes first half but much better second as he tried to advance us into the opposition half, must be a real contender for leaving in the summer as, whatever our fate, he deserves better than this

Noble 4 – looked well off the pace and sadly a long way off the level required for a match like this

Soucek 5.5 – like others spent large parts of the game simply chasing shadows, carelessly gave the ball away which led to change of possession in the build up to City’s second

Snodgrass  5.5 – as ever tried to put in a shift but got forward rarely and very few set pieces for him to deliver

Arthur 4 – a mystery as to how he gets in the starting XI, offered nothing in attack and precious little cover to Cresswell at left back

Antonio 6 – the very definition of isolated, did his best, but often when receiving the ball there was nobody within thirty yards of him, a well-rehearsed shot into Row Z second half

Subs:

Zabaleta (for Fredericks, 60 mins) 6 – it was written well before kick-off, Pablo comes on with the game gone to receive his standing ovation from the home crowd, one excellent headed clearance second half and generally did well, we are bound to see more of him now following Fredericks’ injury, maybe he will help stabilise our defence with his experience on the run-in

Bowen (for Snodgrass, 80 mins) 5 – cameo appearance towards the end, two sharp touches and one misplaced pass, not really the game to showcase his talents, must surely get more game time at Anfield even if just to get minutes under his belt ahead of Southampton