Chelsea vs Manchester City player ratings: Blues victorious in dress rehearsal

Reece James (Right wingback): 9/10

James came alive in the second half, after a quiet first period. The Englishman tormented Benjamin Mendy through his surging runs, so much so that Guardiola eventually decided to take the Frenchman off for Oleksandr Zinchenko – not that the Ukrainian fared any better. He delivered several inviting crosses for the Chelsea attackers to finish and also had an assist canceled when Callum Hudson-Odoi’s strike was flagged for offside. It was a truly sensational attacking performance from the wingback, who had the entire City left flank on the strings for much of the second half.

N’Golo Kante (Central midfielder): 8/10

Either to freshen things up or to protect him from an injury, Tuchel decided to sub Kante off shortly after the hour mark. However, the Frenchman did enjoy another good 60 minutes out on the pitch breaking down Manchester City attacks – just as he did over 180 minutes against Real Madrid. There was a passage of play shortly before he was hooked off that defined what Kante is all about. The Frenchman won the ball three times in different areas of the pitch – all within the space of ten seconds.

Billy Gilmour (Central midfielder): 8.5/10

One could count the number of errors Gilmour made during the match on one hand. Apart from a couple of wayward passes in the first half – and the concession of a contentious penalty – the youngster put in a confident, controlled display. His passing was crisp and he escaped the City press with some excellent turns on a few occasions. Gilmour wasn’t too cautious with his distribution, as he constantly looked to play forward passes to his teammates in good positions. All in all, it was a great performance from the Scotsman against strong opposition.

Marcos Alonso (Left wingback): 8.5/10

Shortly after Manchester City had their penalty appeals turned down at one end, Alonso latched onto a defensive error on the other, before attempting an audacious chip over Ederson from a tight angle. On that occasion, the Brazilian denied the Spaniard by the tip of his fingers, but there was nothing the goalkeeper could’ve done to stop him from scoring the winner late on. Overall, it was the kind of performance we have come to expect from Alonso all year round. The wingback left gaps in behind while storming forward and did not have the pace to recover, although who cares when he comes up with the winner, right?

Jorginho (Central midfielder/Sub): 7/10

The Italian came on for Kante midway through the second half and barely put a foot wrong. He rotated the ball well and helped his side keep hold of the ball. There wasn’t much he had to do defensively as City decided to take the direct route more often than not.