Brilliant Mahrez, average Delph: The best and the worst-rated Man City stars vs Watford

Manchester City player ratings vs Watford

Manchester City continued their dominance at the top of the table with a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Watford at Vicarage Road on Tuesday.

The Citizens enjoyed more possession but Watford started the brighter of the two teams. Roberto Pereyra failed to pick out Isaac Success who was totally unmarked inside the box and Troy Deeney’s effort from close range was saved by Ederson.

Leroy Sane broke the deadlock in the 40th-minute, guiding Riyad Mahrez’s perfectly weighted cross from the right past the goalkeeper to put the visitors in the driver’s seat.

Mahrez doubled the lead just five minutes after halftime and City looked set for an easy win but Abdoulaye Doucoure pulled one back for the hosts in the 85th-minute to give the table-toppers a late scare.

Manchester City player ratings

1. Ederson (8/10)

Made a wonderful save to deny Troy Deeney and was spot on with his passing and distribution.

2. Kyle Walker (7.5/10)

Recovered from a lean patch in recent weeks and put in a spirited performance. Solid at the back and joined the attack occasionally.

3. John Stones (7/10)

Quite solid at the back. Won a few headers and kept Deeney at bay for large quarters of the game.

4. Vincent Kompany (7/10)

Did a decent job at the back and played some good passes up the field to set up attacks from the back.

5. Fabian Delph (6/10)

Committed a silly error to give Watford hope with a late goal but was otherwise pretty good with his tackling.

6. Fernandinho ( 8.5/10)

Won the midfield battle against Doucoure and helped City stamp their authority. Calm and comfortable in possession, cut out the opposition’s attacks and played some good passes to set up the attacks.

7. Bernardo Silva (7/10)

Always a lively presence in midfield. Showed plenty of energy with the ball at his feet and looked good with his link-up play.

8. David Silva (6.5/10)

Wasn’t his best performance in recent weeks but still did enough to contribute to Mahrez’s goal with a delightful pass.

9. Leroy Sane (8/10)

Ripped apart Watford’s defence with his pace and dribbling and created plenty of chances; got his name on the scoresheet from Mahrez’s cross.

10. Gabriel Jesus (7/10)

Bagged an assist for Mahrez’s goal and showed occasional bursts of energy. Never looked like he was going to score.

11. Riyad Mahrez (8.5/10)

Set up Sane for the opener with a wonderful cross and found the net with an accurate left-foot drive in the second half.

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Substitutes

1. Ilkay Gundogan (6/10)

Brought on to shore up the midfield.

2. Aymeric Laporte (N/A)

Not much time to make an impact.