Manchester City took another big step towards Champions League qualification as they comfortably beat West Bromwich Albion 3-1 at the Etihad Stadium, in Pablo Zabaleta’s last ever home game for the club.
City came into the game off the back of a narrow 2-1 win against Leicester City, with Pep Guardiola’s men looking for another three points in the battle for a Champions League place, against an out-of-form West Brom team that are currently ninth under Tony Pulis.
West Brom were having arguably one of their best ever seasons in the Premier League up to their 3-1 home win against Arsenal. Ever since, they haven’t won in eight league games and have struggled to find their form again. Their previous game was a 1-0 loss to Chelsea at the Hawthorns, with Michy Batshuayi sealing the Premier League title for the Blues.
The game overall was dominated by Manchester City, who controlled the possession and pegged back West Brom into their half for the majority of the tie.
The Citizens took the lead when a Sergio Aguero flick found Kevin De Bruyne, whose darting run and cross found Gabriel Jesus to make it 1-0. This takes the young Brazilian’s goal tally to six goals and three assists in seven Premier League starts for City. City then made it 2-0 through De Bruyne, who hit a great first-time finish after Aguero’s attempted pass to Jesus deflected to the Belgian on the edge of the box.
In the second half, City made it 3-0 through Yaya Toure, after Aguero exchanged passes with Ivorian, who surged into the area to slot past Ben Foster. The Baggies managed to get a consolation goal in the latter stages, with substitute Hal Robson-Kanu turning in Allan Nyom’s cross for 3-1.
With another win under their belt, City could then turn to celebrating Pablo Zabaleta’s last appearance at the Etihad Stadium. Pablo is a popular figure amongst City fans, with his passion and determination recognised and celebrated amongst the City faithful.
After nine years at the club, Zabaleta can now look forward to the latter stages of his career, and who knows, maybe a potential position at City in the future?
Here are our City player ratings for the game:
Willy Caballero - 6
Caballero barely had a touch of the ball, which was a good thing with West Brom pegged back in their half until the latter stages of the game.
The only time he did touch the ball was for clearing it up the pitch.
Fernandinho - 7
The Brazilian had barely any defending to do – so he was more prominent in the West Brom half. He then returned to his midfield position after Zabaleta was brought on.
Vincent Kompany - 7.5
Kompany ran off an early injury scare and controlled Salomon Rondon’s threat with some dogged defending and physical play. Another solid performance from the captain.
Nicolas Otamendi - 7
Otamendi was given the freedom to play, whilst Kompany dealt with the presence of Rondon. He took the ball forward well and snuffed out any potential West Brom attacks effectively.
His passing was much improved as well.
Aleksandar Kolarov - 8
Kolarov was called up to replace Clichy after the Frenchman’s terrible performance (yet again) against Leicester. The Serbian was fantastic, which was mostly down to his attacking ability rather than his defensive play.
Yaya Toure - 8
This potentially could be his last home game at City, and he marked it with a fantastic, well-worked goal and an excellent, controlled performance. It will be sad to see him, eventually, leave the club.
Kevin De Bruyne - 8
The Belgian’s cross for Jesus’ opening goal was his 16th assist of the season. About two minutes later, he scored with a superb finish to make it 2-0. He was a constant threat throughout the game and was pushing City forward. A contender for Man of the Match.
David Silva - 7
While his team-mates put in top-class performances, Silva was efficient with his passing and pressed West Brom into difficult situations. The Spaniard has had a much better season under Guardiola.
Leroy Sane - 8
He really should have scored when Aguero set him up perfectly, but he was a menace to the Baggies’ defence and did some great defensive work as well.
The German is a contender for Player of the Season, despite only starting consistent games at the end of December.
Gabriel Jesus - 8
Yet another goal for the Brazilian, but what really made him stand out was his movement and fluidity alongside Aguero. A scary and formidable partnership is slowly forming.
Sergio Aguero - 9
An absolute, world class performance by the Argentinian. He may not have scored, but he was a fantastic creator instead of a finisher. Guardiola has really developed his game by improving his movement off the ball.
Next season looks very promising!
Substitutions
Pablo Zabaleta (for David Silva 61) – Was solid and hard-working in his final game for the club – 10 (for his time served at the club)
John Stones (for Vincent Kompany 77) – no time to mark