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Manchester City v Real Madrid: Man for man marking

 

Steve Tongue
Thursday 22 November 2012 00:55 GMT
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Manchester City

Joe Hart

Questions asked recently about the England goalkeeper but he could do nothing about Benzema's goal. 6/10

Pablo Zabaleta

Started in a back three then switched to left-back after the opening goal. Harsh to received a booking. 6

Vincent Kompany

A difficult evening with Benzema to cope with and Ronaldo occasionally running at him. 6

Matija Nastasic

Has taken a while to settle down in City defence. Looked a little happier after the change to a back four. 6

Maicon

Supposed to be the first line of defence against Ronaldo, his dreadful error in losing Benzema cost the goal. 6

Yaya Toure

Not the influential figure City had hoped for. Yellow card early on means he misses final group match in Dortmund. 6

David Silva

In a key position behind Dzeko and Aguero but rarely able to exploit it until the latter stages. 7

Samir Nasri

Rarely seen in the first half, moved wide on the left after Kolarov went off, then made way for Tevez. 5

Alek Kolarov

Whipped some crosses in but had little joy with set-pieces and was taken off at half time. 5

Edin Dzeko

Given the starting berth he has craved by Roberto Mancini, he failed to justify the manager's faith. 5

Sergio Aguero

The Argentine found Pepe and Ramos more formidable than recent Premier League pairings. Good penalty. 6

Best off the bench

Javi Garcia The summer signing came on for Kolarov and worked hard in defensive midfield. 6

Real Madrid

Iker Casillas

Not given a direct shot to save for a long time by City's ineffective attack, then blocked brilliantly from Aguero. 7

Alvaro Arbeloa

The former Liverpool failure has found a regular berth under Jose Mourinho and was unlucky to be sent off. 6

Pepe

Did not need to resort to any of his more excessive methods. Given more work in second half, which he undertook well. 7

Sergio Ramos

Along with his partner Pepe, allowed Dzeko and Aguero little scope either in the air or on the ground. 7

Fabio Coentrao

Like his defensive colleagues was busier in the second half and sometimes found Maicon going past him. 6

Xabi Alonso

Sat in front of back four, not entirely subduing Silva. Booked for unfriendly foul on his Spain team-mate. 7

Sami Khedira

Was denied early on by Hart after a smart run but mainly concentrated on defensive duties with Teutonic efficiency. 7

Angel Di Maria

The Argentine faded after making the first goal with a pinpoint perfect cross for Benzema to score from.6

Luka Modric

Picked in preference to Mesut Özil he was unexpectedly quiet and substituted midway through the second half. 5

Cristiano Ronaldo

Had decided to turn it on for a Manchester audience and was devastating for half an hour down the left. 7

Karim Benzema

Did his job by ghosting in on the far post to score the goal that gave his team the initiative. 8

Best off the bench

Jose Callejon The versatile Spaniard came on for Modric and pushed forward when he could. 6

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