Manchester City Vs Sunderland: Player Ratings

Vito Mannone - 6

Could do absolutely nothing for Edin Dzeko's goal - one worth of winning any game. Had a fairly quiet 45 minutes, though showed good footwork when an intercepted ball was pinged back to him.

Craig Gardner - 7

Actually fared quite well after a patchy start. Not great going forward but did his duties defensively; his goal-line clearance in the second half was excellent.

Jack Colback - 6

A reliable but rather uneventful showing. He is a more than capable left full-back but he doesn't offer a great deal going forward - it's no surprise the club are actively looking for a "proper" left-back.

John O'Shea - 6

Mostly solid but the high line employed by Di Canio really does show up his lack of pace, especially against sides like Manchester City. Was frequently seen scampering back from the halfway line, usually in vain. Not content with the truly awful pitch providing a throwback to the seventies, he took it upon himself to clatter Alvaro Negredo into a nice big pile of mud. Lovely.

Wes Brown - 7

Positionally sound and unfortunate that his headed clearance was walloped back past him by Dzeko for the game's only goal. Made some excellent challenges and looked steady throughout.

Adam Johnson - 6

Started very brightly and looked menacing down the right. Drifted out of the game but showed some nice touches before being replaced by Karlsson.

Emanuele Giaccherini - 8

Showed some delightful hints as to what he will bring to Sunderland. His first touch was continually sublime and he showed an ability to drift past opposing defenders with ease. End product was somewhat lacking but was the pick of the bunch today.

Cabral - 6

Struggled terribly with the Glastonbury-esque centre of midfield, with unconfirmed statistics suggesting he spent more time on his arse than he did on his feet. When he was vertical, however, he showed a good range of passing and an instant awareness of where his teammates were. Replaced at half-time by Ba.

Seb Larsson - 5

Again, not helped by the playing surface, but was all too often bypassed in the middle. Was fairly unadventurous going forward, opting for a lot of sideways passes, but forced a good save from a late free-kick.

Stephane Sessegnon - 6

Quiet. Technically, as ever, he was very good, but he was nowhere near as incisive as he had been at Spurs. With Sunderland struggling to create much in the final third, he didn't feature as much as he would have liked.

Jozy Altidore - 6

Another who seemed troubled by the conditions, and he didn't manage to get the ball too frequently. Showed an excellent touch to control a through ball that left him in behind the defence (a move which was recovered well by City) and held the ball up well at times, but otherwise was something of a non-entity.

Subs

Keiren Westwood - 7

Didn't have too much to do, but made a smart save from Navas and looked confident when called upon.

Connor Wickham - 6

Used his body to get between the man and the ball well, and offered glimpses of what we all hope he has lurking inside of him. Will improve with more game time.

El-Hadji Ba - 6

Was at fault for conceding a penalty via handling the ball, but he already looks like he fits in in the middle of the park. Despite his tender age, he was confident on the ball and always looks to move forward - isn't afraid to put his foot in either.

David Moberg Karlsson - 6

Looks sparky and a threat. Not really in the game much but still promising.

James McClean- 6

Wasn't really on long enough to make any discernible impact.

Mikael Mandron - 6

See McClean.

Man Of The Match - Emanuele Giaccherini

No one played particularly poorly, nor did anyone play particularly well, but Giaccherini stood out from the crowd. Every time he received the ball you felt he might do something of note. Caused no end of trouble to numerous City players - Matija Nastasic actually managed to injure himself in his vain attempt to not let the Italian winger skin him. Giaccherini's first touch is phenomenal and he is already showing why many are seeing his move as a significant coup for the club.

We'll have further match reaction in our dedicated Match Stream, which you can find right HERE.