Bristol City v Man City: Player ratings

Chris Bailey

August 29, 2007

WINNER: Rolando Bianchi fires in City's second

HART - One breathtaking second half stop and proved the Blues have two fine young keepers 7

SUN - Never lets anyone down whenever and wherever he is asked to perform. Steady game behind rookie Logan 6

CORLUKA - First time he has played in the centre of defence for Sven and looked completely at home there 7

ONUOHA - Blues skipper for the night was powerful in the air and strong enough on the floor 7

BALL - Like Sun on the other side of the back four did his job without fuss and with utmost professionalism 6

LOGAN - Sparkling in first half in which the debut maker tore into Bristol and gave them all sorts of trouble 8

IRELAND - Always looks so comfortable on the ball and had a boot in most of the chances made 7

FERNANDES - A bundle of energy as the holding player. Not quite the calm elegance of a Hamann but did just fine 7

GEOVANNI - Another whose runs created huge gaps in the home rearguard though he tired in second period 7

BIANCHI - Couple of flicks in the first half were sublime and his winning goal was top class 8

MPENZA - Missed one great chance but took another with power and precision. He and Bianchi were the difference 8

SUBS:

Dabo (for Geovanni 81) - Managed to solidify things in middle 6

Dickov (for Bianchi 88) - too late to mark

NOT USED: Schmeichel, M. Mills and Laird

GOALS: Bristol - Orr (68); City - Mpenza (17), Bianchi (80)

BOOKINGS: none

BRISTOL: Weale, Orr (Jevons 86), Fontaine, Carey, McAllister, Wilson (Sproule 53), Johnson, Elliott, McIndoe, Trundle, Murray. Not used: Basso, Skuse, and Vasko.

ATTENDANCE: 14,541

REFEREE: R J Beeby (Northants) - kept the game flowing and his cards in his pocket

Agree with the ratings? Have your say.

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Stumpy_MCFC, Dublin (29/08/2007 at 22:31)

Sorry but there is no way Ireland was rated a 7, 6 at the most. Granted a few nice flicks but his support play lacked some.

Bristol Blue, Bristol (29/08/2007 at 22:35)

7 for Fernandes, you are kidding. He gave the ball away - gave fouls away in dangerous situations. One for the future, perhaps but for now your place in the team Didi is assured. Giovanni also left alarming gaps which put undue pressure on Michael Ball and Nedum. We need a left sided midfield player. Logan was fine in the first half but seemed to lose confidence for some reason.

David , New Moston, manchester (29/08/2007 at 22:38)

i think the rating are pretty reasonable but must give special praise to the referee who for once this season did it with no fuss and was even handed throughout and didn't have to branish yellow cards to keep control of the game.

Ste (29/08/2007 at 22:51)

Fernandes had a great first half but faded in the second and gave the ball away and a few free kicks in dangerous areas.

Ball was weak on the left and gave them too much space. Every cross came from that side -Garrido back on Sunday please!

Great save from Hart.

Sun was steady as was Nedum and Corluka

Ireland didn't do too much for me and Geovanni doesnt work hard enough when defending.

Logan was good in patches but a bit wasteful

Bianchi excellent - Mpenza good first half - poor 2nd.

Magic Mike, Middleton (29/08/2007 at 23:29)

fERNANDES WAS A 7/8 THE WAY HE BROKE UP PLAY AND THEN GOT US MOVING FORWARD WAS QUALITY IN HIS FIRST GAME

Paul, New York (29/08/2007 at 23:50)

Don't like to knock youngsters but 8 for Logan is too high. He had a promising start and I certainly wish him the best for the future. Bianchi looks real class to me---why does'nt he start games?

nigelcloughsarmchair (30/08/2007 at 00:20)

Hart and Schmeichel, how can you choose between them?
Perhaps Hart has a few less scary moments and gives a little more confidence to the back four. Really there is nothing between them and they and the other young players show there was a contribution from individuals at the club prior to Sven and in less than privileged circumstances.
Also well done Sun, Mr. Dependable.

CairnsBlues, Cairns (30/08/2007 at 00:49)

My take having watched online was:

HART - One great save and looked comfortable, yes we have a wealth of keepers 7

SUN - Tend to agree that he has bags of heart, probably best suited to a support/holding role 6

CORLUKA - Showed that he is a centre half, but also why Sven is playing him at RB, he's learning to play the game in England 7

ONUOHA - Powerful performance, when I saw the side it took a while to reailse he was skipped, took that in his stride 7

BALL - Solid and professional 6

LOGAN - Seemed very confident and not afraid to let loose either, another winner from Jim and the academy 8

IRELAND - He is probably the most natural ball player to come through the academy and whilst he was involved in much had a quieter night 6

FERNANDES - Not yet the finished article and will learn heaps from Didi, seems to have the required ingredients though 6

GEOVANNI - He stood out as class amongst a workman like opposition and still I believewill get better 8

BIANCHI and MPENZA - I am grouping these two as in many respects it's how the combination works and there was enough there to suggest they already have a bit of an understanding, together they combine well as Mpenza has the pace and Bianchi has the cool composure - 8 each is about right.

As for Dickov and Dabo, was that a farewell gesture from Sven to them both and did either of them actually get a significant touch on the ball?

Whatever the performance, with 9 changes a win is a win simple as that and last years side would have lost that game.

Come on City!

Sid Bkk, Bangkok (30/08/2007 at 04:58)

Hey Dunne, can you help Mpenza shed some weight? He would be even more faster and deadlier. No joke!

Alty Blue, Timperley (30/08/2007 at 07:51)

Bristol Blue reckons we need a left-sided midfielder. Hmmm...how about Petrov. I believe he's quite good!!

Dave Jenkinson (30/08/2007 at 08:18)

Sub M Mills, though he was on loan at Doncaster?

Bulman, Bolton, Gtr Manchester (30/08/2007 at 08:45)

As expected Gelson Fernandes showed some naiity at times (especially the free kick given away near the end) but also broke up a heck of a lot of moves throughout the game. Did the unsung job well on the whole. Thought it was Stevie Irelands worse game this season. Gave ball away too much and did not contribute enough. Definitely not a 7. Two classy goals.

BlueMorg, North West (30/08/2007 at 08:50)

Take it easy.

Was very impressed with the passing and level of play considering this was the B team.

Ireland made a few sloppy passes, the annoying under hit ones, otherwise it was brill.

Fernandes did well for me, Mpenza played well and Bianchi was awesome!!

mozza_100, Ashton-under-Lyne (30/08/2007 at 09:05)

I'd have scored it much differently. I'm a huge Logan fan, since before he broke the first team, but he was wasteful in possession at times and he's a maximum of 7. Mpenza looked second rate compared to the other players apart from the finish for his goal, probably only 6 for him. Bianchi was Berbatov-esque at times and was easily a 9. Why is it that the scoring between City and United is so different. If that had been United last night they'd have mostly got 6's. I don't claim that City are in that class yet but surely one players performance is comparible to another's. We were good and Fernandes will be a good player when he cuts out his indsicipline. Jury still out on Ireland. I genuinely think that we could surprise everybody this season, have a cup run or even break top 4. When we are hot we're at boiling point and I really think once we click in February time we're going to be irrestible, which makes the FA cup a real possibility.

Holme Valley Knowledge. (30/08/2007 at 09:27)

Alty Blue, taking on board your comments....We need a left sided midfielder!

South Stand, Eastlands (30/08/2007 at 09:36)

why does no-one (especially Ireland) have a pop from long range - we were in shooting positions a lot last night and looked for that fancy pass rather than the goal - the one time we had a shot, Bianchi scored....

Big Ernst (Manchester, Where Else??) (30/08/2007 at 09:44)

My ratings from last night were;

HART - 7
SUN - 6
CORLUKA - 7
ONUOHA - 7
BALL - 6
LOGAN - 6
IRELAND - 6
FERNANDES - 7
GEOVANNI - 7
BIANCHI - 9
MPENZA - 8

Fernandes looked quality but naive, Bianchi and Mpenza ran their socks off. I thought Logan's end product was dire - he should have scored at least two.

Did anyone else think last night that watching the game was like the Arsenal of old? Trying to pass the ball into the net?

Lets have another easy tie in the 3rd Round.... Un**ed anyone?

Oliver, Manchester (30/08/2007 at 09:52)

I thought Corluka, Fernandes and Bianchi were superb! Really impressed.

Billy Boy, Boston (30/08/2007 at 10:20)

I really don't know what everybody has against Stephen Ireland, I thought he was our best player last night along with Rolando. Even the mcfc website gave him man of the match.

Andrew (30/08/2007 at 11:33)

Thought Ireland had an excellent match after a very quiet opening 15 minutes when I failed to locate hiim on the pitch. Geovanni covered back well on several occasions and looked good going forward at times. Fernandes had a solid start and broke up play well even though he gave away the fk for their equlaiser but was overall impressive. Ball looked somewhat less assured at left back which is from where most of Bristol's threat came, including the goal when Ball and Corluka got in each other's way. Otherwise, Corluka was excellent. Hart's save was world class. Bianchi was the best player on the field in the first half. Much quieter in the second until that superb strike to win the game! My man of the match.

Georgian Maestro (30/08/2007 at 11:54)

I thought Stephen Ireland played quite well last night.
Granted he gave the ball away a couple of times but all our good work especially in the 1st half came through him.
He's always composed on the ball and always looks for the incisive pass which he provided for Mpenza's goal

Peter Doherty. As good as it gets! (30/08/2007 at 12:08)

Ireland had a good game.

Rice10, Bristol (30/08/2007 at 13:45)

Went to the game last night and it was a bit nerve wracking Bristol City did themselves proud.

Thought Bianchi did well and Corluka did well but thought Geovanni struggled and left too much space in front of Ball dont think it was his sort of game at all!!

What impressed me the most and I cant believe I have seen him criticised on here was Stephen Ireland!! this is not the same player as under pearce in a game like this he would have drifted in and out but last night when he was the senior midfielder with Logan and Fernandes when the going got tough in the second half he stood up and tried to take control I thought he was brilliant especially when Geovanni seemed scared to track back. I was sat in with Bristol City fans and on the same side as Ball and Geovanni and Ball was not happy at how exposed he was.

Basically what I wanted to highlight was the attitude and obvious class of the player and how he has come on leaps and bounds under Sven.

Lambadonna (30/08/2007 at 14:03)

Yeah i was pleased with the performance overall. I thought Ball was exposed a couple of times ...but mainly because Geovanni wasnt tracking back. Lets be honest he isnt a ball winner but Sven deffo had a word with him at half time as he was much better in the second hald. Really really liked the look of Logan..he is deffo one for rthe future. All said i thought Mpenza and Bianchi were outstanding. In the first half they looked the absolute business. Happy happy happy

Jeannie (30/08/2007 at 14:14)

I know i am showing my age, but i must admit Bianchi last night reminded me of Rodney Marsh, with his flicks, the way he goes round players and he even runs like him.
ps just hope his arse don't get as big as Rods!!!

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