Sunderland Vs Manchester City: Player Ratings

Simon Mignolet - 9

Mignolet came up big making some absolutely superb stops from Aguero and Silva. All afternoon he looked confident in every battle and showed just why he's among the best 'keepers in the league. Denied what would be on another occasion with another 'keeper two definite goals today.

Craig Gardner - 7

Back in the right back position and once again he did very well. Anyone else noticing a pattern here? Anyway, that's besides the point for now. Today he did well coping with the double bombardment of James Milner and Pablo Zabaleta. Solid performance.

Carlos Cuellar - 7

Captain for the day, and just about a 'captain's performance' at the heart of the defence. Occasionally he was skinned by Aguero and indeed played the Argentine on side in the second half when trying to play him off, but generally got his big beardy face in the way of everything and hacked any danger clear.

Matt Kilgallon - 7

There's always a worry when Kilgallon's name is read out prematch, but he didn't disgrace himself at all this week and put his foot in where it was needed on every occasion. We certainly need to see more of this Kilgallon than the one we saw against Norwich a while back.

Danny Rose - 9

Just gets better and better with every passing week. There's simply nothing to not like about him at all. He'll be a huge loss against his parent team at the weekend. Today's performance can hardly be faulted. Strong in the tackle, good going forward, an amazing block in the second half - just mint Danny Rose.

Adam Johnson - 7

Johnson has such a tendency to drift in and out of games, but today when he bothered to get himself going he was great and the goal, no matter how much luck was involved, merits a decent mark. Crossing still at times a little suspect though.

Seb Larsson - 7

Worked his arse off in central midfield today before being subbed off for Fraizer Campbell. It was a worry that he and Colback wouldn't provide much power in there but what they lacked in that department they more than made up for in determination. Larsson was thoroughly decent today.

Jack Colback - 8

Much like Larsson he hustled and harried the City side all day long and did a great job sitting in front of the defence. A real highlight performance for Colback after a little bit of a down period. Great to see.

James McClean - 9

Thought that McClean had his best game of the season if we're honest. He was a constant threat down the left and absolutely worked his bollocks off for the cause chasing everything and even making some superb tackles.

Stephane Sessegnon - 8

Also had a fine game today and really should have bagged himself a goal on a few occasions. Played the role of the support striker perfectly, sticking near Fletcher but working for the ball deep too. A great performance from Sessegnon all game.

Steven Fletcher - 7

A little bit of a quiet game for Fletcher but he did well in the air and provided us an outlet when pumping balls forward towards the end.

Fraizer Campbell - 6

Probably the most impactful substitute performance he's had all season in setting up Sessegnon for what should have been a second before squandering a good chance himself. At least he's beginning to look a little bit of a danger now.

Phil Bardsley - 5

Only on for a couple of minutes and can't recall him doing a great deal barring blocking one shot for a corner. Standard stuff really though.

Man Of The Match: James McClean

I've changed my mind about six times here before plumping for one name. Before everyone shouts, yes, there's perfectly coherent arguments for Sessegnon, Mignolet, Colback and various others but I'm going with McClean. He's had a tough time of things, and today he worked his backside off for the cause with some great tackles and even better crosses. Great at both ends for us.

We'll have more reaction and that from today's game right HERE in our Match Stream in the next few days.