Man City vs Fulham Player Ratings

Man City

Hart - 6.5
The coldest man in Manchester on Saturday. Hart was standing around hardly doing anything in Arctic conditions until about an hour into the match. Quality keepers always stay focused and it was no surprise that the England international made a difficult save from a Baird free-kick look routine. Ok it wasn't the most well struck free-kick you were ever going to see but in the snowy conditions Hart did well to hang on to the ball at the first attempt.

And of course his save to deny Riise a consolation goal at the end also deserves a mention.

Richards - 7.5
The right back was rarely troubled defensively which allowed him the freedom to operate further down the right flank and he was hurting Fulham, who had the ineffective Baird as their left-back. Baird had already scored one own goal in the first half and Fulham nearly shot themselves in the foot twice when Senderos almost diverted a cross from Richards into his own net.

Kolarov - 6.5
The Manchester City left-back certainly loves to get forward and it was a shame Dzeko did not gamble on making a deeper run into the box when Kolarov delivered a perfect cross in the first half.

However, Kolarov was guilty of some awful defending minutes later when he allowed Duff to cut inside and flash a shot just wide of the far post. The worst was to come later when he cynically pulled Dembele back by the arm - stopping him from starting a Fulham counter attack - and then reacted to the Fulham player's anger at the foul by engaging him in a forehead-on-forehead conversation.

Savic - 6
The supposed weak link in the Manchester City defence but he got through the game with Fulham without making any bad mistakes and in testing conditions too.

Lescott - 6
Manchester City's centre-backs were almost anonymous during the game which showed just how well Roberto Mancini's game plan worked this time round following their defeat to Everton in the previous game.

Barry - 5.5
Perhaps a controversial score to give but although Man City beat Fulham 3-0, Barry was below-par in central midfield. He just never seemed to get into the game and gave the ball away at times while also committing needless fouls as well (the one against Dempsey in the second half outside the City box was particularly bad).

Nasri (Off 53') - 6.5
There were some very encouraging moments between Nasri and Silva in this match which points to perhaps a very promising midfield partnership for City. It was evident early on in the match when in the 25th minute Silva linked up with Nasri to put the ex-Arsenal player into the area. He then pulled it back for Silva but the Spaniard's shot flew just past the far post.

Silva - 7
Probably should have scored early on in the game after a neat passage of play with Nasri allowed Silva a clean shot close to goal - but the shot was off target.

He was unlucky not to have had a penalty in the first half when Etuhu ‘s desperate lunge at him in the box was deemed by the referee to be fair.

Johnson (Off 89') - 7.5
Man of the match? That might be a bit of a stretch but one thing is clear: Johnson was an integral part in City's win. Firstly, he cleverly - some might say he went down too easily - won a penalty against Baird for City early in the game for City's opener. Then, his cross was turned in by Baird - again - not long after from a Johnson cross.

Aguero (Off 79') - 7.5
He's been relatively quiet goal scoring wise by his own high standards of late so it will have pleased City fans to see Aguero get on the score sheet against Fulham - albeit from the penalty spot. It was an expertly dispatched spot kick though, giving the goalkeeper no chance.

Aguero is much more than just goals though, the run and skill involved to open up the Fulham defence to set Dzeko up for City's third goal was class.

Dzeko - 7
Dzeko doesn't appear to enjoy playing with Aguero. Not sure why that is - it would be interesting to find out if the pair do get along on a personal level - but it showed against Fulham. They don't seem to want to pass to each other at times. On another note, we would like to see Dzeko, who is a decent header of the ball, make more runs into the box instead of occupying the same space where Aguero looks to operate.

When the pair finally did combine to good effect - mainly due to the efforts of Aguero - Dzeko scored.

Subs
Milner (On 53') - 6
Came on and provided a different option for Silva to play with instead of Nasri.

De Jong (On 79') - N/A
He was such a crucial player for Man City last season but now it seems his career has regressed to that of a ‘garbage time' player - or someone who comes on when the game is already won to let the first team player have a rest.

Pizarro (On 89') - N/A
Came on for Johnson to become the first Chilean to play for Manchester City.

Fulham

Schwarzer - 6.5
Fulham were out of the contest by half-time but it was hardly the fault of goalkeeper Schwarzer. The experienced Australian keeper could do little to stop Aguero's penalty and Baird's own-goal as City built a 2-0 half-time lead.

In the second half he did well to keep the scores close - and an eye on the ball as the snow came down heavy in Manchester.

Kelly - 6.5
Some of Fulham's most promising attacks came from the flanks and their right-back Kelly contributed to this. He put in an inviting ball for Davies in the first half but the Welshman's height always made him second best against the towering City defenders.

Kelly even had a decent attempt to score in the second half but his shot did not have enough pace to beat Hart in the home goal.

Baird - 3
Baird will want to forget this game in a hurry. He was woeful at left-back and was completely out f his depth trying to deal with the City duo of Johnson and Richards. Two mistakes by him effectively ruled Fulham out of the match in the first half - first there was the penalty he conceded and secondly the own-goal he scored.

Things didn't improve too much for him in the second half and when Fulham boss Martin Jol switched him to centre-back in the second half (after Senderos had been subbed) you really feared he would concede another penalty.

Senderos (Off 72') - 6.5
It was desperate stuff at times from Senderos but that was to be expected as the visiting side against Manchester City. It almost backfired for him in the 34th minute when he tried to clear a cross while facing his own goal but his goalkeeper Schwarzer managed to hold onto it.

He was taken off by Fulham manager Martin Jol in the 72nd minute for the more attack minded Senderos.

Hangeland - 6.5
The big centre-back put in some heroic challenges in the game - mainly on Dzeko who he marked quite well throughout.

Murphy - 6.5
The former Liverpool player wasn't at his best attacking wise against City. Murphy's normally reliable set piece deliveries and passing were off the mark but he didn't shirk his responsibilities in the middle of the park. His block to deny Aguero what would've been a certain goal late in the game was particularly pleasing from a Fulham point of view.

Etuhu (Off 67') - 5.5
Etuhu was very lucky not to concede a penalty after a desperate lunge on Silva in the box saw him make contact with ball and man. The referee - perhaps swayed by his decision to give City a soft penalty prior to this incident - waved play on.

Davies - 5.5
The Welshman had a quiet and un-influential game as Fulham struggled to get their passing game on at the Etihad Stadium.

Duff - 6.5
Showed some flashes of the skill which earned him a big money move to Chelsea from Blackburn Rovers all those years ago. Despite his ageing years, Duff's best moment came when he easily cut inside of Kolarov in the first half before flashing a shot wide of the far post.

Dembele (Off 85') - 5.5
Dembele has been one of the real bright spots in Fulham's Premier League season but against City he let himself down. The contest didn't start too well for him when he lost possession in Fulham's first foray forward and on the counter attack his team-mate Baird conceded a penalty. His day did not end on a good note either as he got embroiled in a silly confrontation with Kolarov towards the end of the game which saw both men go forehead-to-forehead.

Dempsey - 6.5
The American plays at his best in behind Zamora or a target man but against City he was the lone striker. He was feeding on scraps all game but never stopped trying.

Subs
Ruiz (On 67') - 6
Came off the bench and to his credit he worked very hard for the team even though they were chasing a lost cause.

Riise (On 72') - 6
Had a good shot attempt in the closing stages of the game which managed to call Hart into action.

Gecov (On 85') - N/A