Manchester City completed a ruthless demolition of Watford as they eased past the opponents in a tremendous manner. Pep Guardiola continued his sizzling start as City now comfortably sit at the top of the table. Watford hardly challenged a rampaging Manchester City side as they looked blown away by the sheer amount of attacking talent on show. Manchester City’s attackers left no stone unturned and scored one goal after another against the hapless defence of Watford.
Here are our player ratings for the match:
GK: Ederson- 7/10
The Brazilian had a very safe game and did not have to make any noteworthy save. Watford rarely attacked, as they were unable to get over the midfield turmoil. There was a brief phase of about fifteen minutes at the start of the second half when Watford did challenge the keeper a bit but Ederson managed to keep a clean sheet.
RB: Kyle Walker- 8/10
The former Spurs man was an integral part of City’s game plan for this match. The Sky Blues decided to go on an attacking mode from the flanks and hence Watford found it difficult to cope up with the pace of the game. Walker assisted Aguero’s goal in the 81st minute.
CB: Nicolas Otamendi- 8.5/10
For the first time this season, Otamendi looked assured at the heart of the defence. He did not make any rash challenges and grabbed a valuable goal for the team. Guardiola would be looking forward to many such performances from the Argentine.
CB: John Stones- 8/10
Vincent Kompany’s absence means that Stones will get regular time on the playing field now. He had a decent game and hardly got troubled by Watford. He brought the midfielders into the play with some good passes from the defence.
LB: Benjamin Mendy- 8/10
The Frenchman did what he does best. Mendy made some quick runs through the left flank and brought Sterling and de Bruyne into play. His crossing was near perfect and he looks to be improving with every game.
AM: Kevin de Bruyne- 9/10
The Belgian looks set to have another great season with City. Kevin de Bruyne tore apart Watford’s defence with his tireless running and immaculate passing. He shifted to wide areas often, which allowed the two centre forwards to play more centrally. Overall, de Bruyne had an excellent day at the centre of the park.
CDM: Fernandinho- 8/10
Fernandinho shielded the defence particularly well whenever Watford tried to counter-attack. He led the midfield well and played the ball around the flanks to allow the fullbacks have space to go on the attack. He ventured forward a couple of times and had a good game.
CM: David Silva- 8.5/10
The Spaniard maestro had an excellent game as he rarely did anything wrong. His passes, crosses, runs into the box combined with the vision in front of the goal helped Aguero and Jesus to find the back of the net. His creativity was superb which helped City ruthlessly destroy Watford.
AM: Raheem Sterling- 8/10
Sterling returned after suspension. He linked up well with the fellow attackers and helped them set up play well. He scored from the spot in the 89th minute; however, the way he earned the penalty was impressive. Even after being 5-0 up, he dribbled past defenders in a spectacular fashion and earned the penalty inside the box.
ST: Gabriel Jesus- 8.5/10
The Brazilian’s impressive run in the Premier League continues as he got on the score sheet once again. Jesus did well to play second fiddle to Aguero who was in amazing form today.
ST: Sergio Aguero- 9.5/10
It was easily the Argentine’s day at the office. He never put a foot wrong during the course of the game and truly deserved the Man of the Match award. Aguero scored his sixth hat trick in the Premier League and even set one up for Gabriel Jesus. He was tenacious and extremely mobile in front of the goal. His performance will boost his confidence levels further and will help him compete for the title again with City.
Substitutes
- Ilkay Gundogan- 7/10
The German made his return to the game after nearly ten months out of action. He replaced de Bruyne and did a nice job by maintaining the same level of intensity in play.
- Bernardo Silva- 7/10
Similarly to Gundogan, Silva came on the pitch when the result was more or less decided. However, he did try his best to churn out some of his delicious through balls but none of them were used well by City.
- Leroy Sane- N.A
Came on too late to leave an impact on the game.
