Slovan Bratislava 0-4 Manchester City: Player ratings as Gundogan and Foden star in routine victory for the Sky Blues

Manchester City crushed Slovan Bratislava 4-0 in the Champions League on Tuesday for their first win of the 2024-25 season. Ilkay Gundogan, Phil Foden, Erling Haaland and James McAtee all struck apiece for the Sky Blues, who were in cruise control throughout. In fact, the English champions mustered 28 shots in the game, of which 14 were on target, while also possessing 77% of the ball.

Having been held to a 0-0 draw by Inter Milan at home in the season opener, Pep Guardiola’s roared back to their menacing best here, turning back the calendar to deliver a performance worthy of champions. Bratislava’s inexperience and lack of quality showed here, as the Slovakian side could barely ruffle a feather here.

Here are the player ratings for both sides:

Slovan Bratislava Player Ratings vs Manchester City

Goalkeeper

Dominik Takac – 6.5

A good performance from Dominik Takac in goal. He made 10 saves and prevented Manchester City from having a blow-out, although he was helpless with all four goals that he conceded on the night. Probably the only one from the home side who didn’t deserve to be on the losing end of the game.

Defenders

Cesar Blackman – 6.5

With two clearances, interceptions and tackles each, Cesar Blackman had a quite a good game but lacked pace at times to compete with Manchester City’s marauding forwards. Unperturbed by the occasion, the Bratislava defender competed valiantly for the ball, winning five of his six ground duels on the night.

Guram Kashia – 7

The Georgian defender made a staggering eight clearances, a testament to his excellent vision on the night, while also blocking two shots. He stepped up in the face of impending danger to make four tackles and won five of his six ground duels too. His passing left a lot to be desired, but Kashia more than made up for that with a solid display.

Kenan Bajric – 6.5

The 29-year-old made a game-high of nine clearances, perfectly complimenting Kashia in defense, but ultimately their lack of experience showed, as Manchester City’s marauding forwards managed to get past them multiple times.

Kevin Wimmer – 6.5

As their right-back, he couldn’t get forward much, as City pressed them relentlessly and had kept Bratislava on the backfoot. But Wimmer turned up solid in defense with five clearances and two interceptions.

Midfielders

Danylo Ihnatenko – 6

The midfielder could rarely get involved as the speed and intensity of the game were just too much for him. He also conceded a corner in the second half following a tackle on Savinho.

Kyriakos Savvidis – 7

The Greek midfielder stepped up as Ihnatenko had a stinker, making three clearances, blocking one shot and intercepting twice. He also won five of his nine ground duels. Savvidis was too unfortunate that Manchester City’s opening goal deflected off of him before crashing into the back of the net.

Forwards

Tigran Barseghyan – 6

He very nearly gave Bratislava a shock lead in the second minute when he whizzed a shot just wide off the right. But that was as good as it got for him thereafter, as Barseghyan rarely got involved in the game. He completed only eight passes and failed to win any of his five ground duels.

Marko Tolic – 6.5

In whatever little moments of joy Bratislava had going forward, Tolic was certainly involved. He linked up nicely with Vladimir Weiss and gave Manchester City something to think about, even as those moments were few and far between.

Vladimir Weiss – 7

The Slovan Bratislava skipper demonstrated encouraging fighting spirit while much of his side looked resigned to their fate. He fought hard for the ball, winning eight of his 11 ground duels and made four tackles too.

David Strelec – 5

A toothless display from the Slovan Bratislava striker, who looked isolated upfront for much of the game without proper service. As Manchester City bombarded their area with their attacking intent, much of the action happened at the other end.

Substitutes

Sharani Zuberu – 6

Jeremy Doku never gave him a moment’s rest.

Julius Szoke – 6

He made two clearances and two tackles.

Lukas Pauschek – 5.5

He didn’t see much of the ball but looked to make impact off it.

Nino Marcelli – 4

He touched the ball six times but never completed a single pass.

Robert Mak – N/A

A complete non-factor.

Manager

Vladimir Weiss – 4

The Slovan Bratislava manager had no answer to Manchester City’s relentless attacking style. None of his substitutions were truly inspiring either.

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Manchester City Player Ratings vs Slovan Bratislava

Goalkeeper

Stefan Ortega – 7

The Manchester City custodian didn’t have to make a single save in the game as Slovan Bratislava never even had a good sight of goal, thanks to the well-oiled defense of the visitors. This is also perhaps the easiest clean sheet he is going to pick up for the side this season.

Defenders

Rico Lewis – 8

A coming-of-age performance from Rico Lewis, who looked unstoppable down the right. His vision was top-notch and delivery was fine too. The diminutive full-back completed over 90% of his passes and laid three key passes too, including a sleek throughball for Haaland to drive home their third goal of the evening.

Manuel Akanji – 7

The Swiss international gave away two clumsy fouls inside the opening 25 minutes of the game but was otherwise a reliable figure in defense. He looked composed and in his usual element, ready to jump in and make an intervention whenever some danger came their way. Akanji was especially vital at impeding Bratislava’s attempts at counter-attacks.

John Stones – 7.5

With over a 100 passes completed, John Stones played a key role in building from the back. He also laid two key passes and five long balls, while also holding the fort well with key clearances and blocks. The Englishman was strong in the air too, winning four of his six aerial duels.

Josko Gvardiol – 7.5

The Croatian maestro made four clearances and five tackles on the night to deliver a colossal performance defensively as Bratislava never had a chance while going up against him. He won six of his nine ground duels too and completed 97% of his passes.

Midfielders

Matheus Nunes – 8

Following a relatively quiet opening stanza, Matheus Nunes burst to life after the break, sending in a series of delicate crosses for City’s forwards to chase. However, the Portuguese midfielder came a cropper in his duels, winning just twice in six. He also lost possession 13 times.

Ilkay Gundogan – 8.5

The German star fired Manchester City in front with a lethal shot in the eighth minute for his first goal since returning from Barcelona. Towards the end of the half, Gundogan made another solid attempt that came off the crossbar as the Sky Blues hunted down Bratislava’s goal like hungry vultures.

Forwards

Jeremy Doku – 9

A surprisingly vivacious performance from Jeremy Doku, who was central to everything good coming out of Manchester City’s attacking game tonight. He laid five key passes and six crosses, finding holes in Bratislava’s defense with his speed, creativity and devastating link-up plays, while also creating both their goals in the first half too.

Phil Foden – 8.5

Manchester City’s little dynamite made it 2-0 after 15 minutes with a brilliant curling low effort into the bottom corner. He came agonizingly close to doubling his account for the night with a long-range effort that Takac parried onto the post, before seeing two more shots go well wide off target.

Savinho – 8

The Brazilian was a bright spark on the left flank for Manchester City. His propensity to drive forward at every opportunity drew out fouls from Bratislava’s players, and even inadvertently set up the first goal as his shot was parried into the path of Gundogan. He laid one key pass and a staggering eight crosses, but could’ve helped City if he wasn’t too sloppy on the ball at times.

Erling Haaland – 8.5

It was turning out to be a frustrating night for Erling Haaland, who missed two big chances in the opening stanza and saw a few of his efforts saved too. However, given his hunger and eagerness, Bratislava couldn’t keep him out for long, as the Norwegian broke the jinx after the break and scored a simple goal after rounding off their goalkeeper.

Substitutes

Ruben Dias – 6

He kept their defense solid and prevented any last-minute hiccups.

James McAtee – 8

The England U-21 star smashed home a fourth after receiving a brilliant pass from Foden.

Kyle Walker – 6

Walker didn’t get involved much and was a spectator for a majority of the time he was on the pitch for.

Jack Grealish – 6

Grealish completed all 12 of his passes after coming on, besides which there was nothing else about his game to really talk about.

Manager

Pep Guardiola – 8

The Manchester City manager set his side out to finish the job in the first half itself as Manchester City ran riot in the opening 45 minutes. Although the second half seemed more cagey, the Sky Blues managed to score twice more and gloss to the scoreline.