Football

Manchester City vs Sheffield United Player Ratings: Mahrez Hat-Trick Puts Away Plucky Blades

Manchester City vs Sheffield United Player Ratings: Mahrez Hat-Trick Puts Away Plucky Blades
Riyad Mahrez of Manchester City scores from the penalty spot during the FA Cup Semi-Final match between Manchester City and Sheffield United at Wembley Stadium, London Picture by Darren Woolley/Focus Images Ltd 07590188758 22/04/2023 - Photo by Icon sport

  • Three goals from Riyad Mahrez send Manchester City through to the FA Cup final.
  • Iliman Ndiaye had a golden chance to give Sheffield United an early lead but he was denied by Ortega.
  • City set up a potential Manchester derby final with Manchester United taking on Brighton tomorrow in the other semi-final.

Manchester City Player Ratings: Haaland defers to Mahrez as the Blues win in second gear

Stefan Ortega 7/10 – Made a crucial save early on and distributed the ball well throughout. A seamless replacement for Ederson.

Kyle Walker 7/10 – Linked well with Mahrez down the right flank and cause Max Howe all sorts of problems throughout.

Manuel Akanji 7/10 – Didn’t have an awful lot of defending to do but dealt with everything emphatically.

Aymeric Laporte 7/10 – Was effectively playing in central midfield and looked after the ball well.

Sergio Gomez 5/10 – Noticeably City’s worst player on the pitch and was targetted by Sheffield United. Is unlikely to make the grade at City.

Bernardo Silva 7/10 – The Portuguese maestro enjoyed getting on the ball in a deeper role and won the penalty for the crucial opener.

Ilkay Gundogan 8/10 – Ran the game from midfield.

Jack Grealish 8/10 – He really has come on leaps and bounds in recent months and terrorised the Sheffield United defence throughout. Always seems to make the right decision.

Julian Alvarez 6/10 – Not the Argentinian’s best game. Was wasteful at times and missed a couple of decent chances.

Riyad Mahrez 10/10 – Three goals and the Man of the Match award. You can’t ask for much more at Wembley.

Erling Haaland 6/10 – Had a quiet game but his presence alone was terrifying enough. Will be disappointed not to have scored as he chases more records.

Substitutes 

Cole Palmer 6/10 – Looked bright when he came on.

Phil Foden 7/10 – Looked like he was desperate to make something to happen after returning from injury and played well.

Kalvin Phillips 6/10 – Came on late. Will have been disappointed not to have started this one.

Rico Lewis 6/10 – Came on too late to make an impact.

Sheffield United Player Ratings: Blades left wondering what might have been

Wesley Foderingham 6/10 – Made a good save from an Alvarez shot in the first half but may be disappointed not to have kept out the third goal.

Anel Ahmedhodzic 5/10 – Struggled against Grealish throughout.

John Egan 7/10 – Was the best Sheffield United defender and didn’t do an awful lot wrong.

Jack Robinson 5/10 – Allowed Mahrez to waltz past him far too easily for the second City goal.

Sam Baldock 6/10 – Struggled against Grealish and was clumsy at times when his side were trying to attack.

Max Lowe 4/10 – Had a really poor game and lost the ball for City’s second goal. Looks like he could struggle in the Premier League next season.

John Fleck 6/10 – Work tirelessly in midfield but couldn’t get near to Silva or Gundogan.

Sander Berge 7/10 – Looked the classiest of the Sheffield United players and battled hard in midfield.

Oliver Norwood 6/10 – Worked hard but wasn’t really in the game.

Daniel Jebbison 5/10 – Was reckless in giving away the penalty at the end of the first half and lost the ball a few times on the counter attack.

Iliman Ndiaye 5/10 – Should have given the Blades an early lead. Who knows what would have happened if he had.

Substitutes

Ollie Mcburnies 7/10 – Played well when he came on and gave his team an outlet. Perhaps he should have started.

Billy Sharp 6/10 – Came on and worked hard but is perhaps lacking a bit of quality at this level and at his age.

Chris Basham 6/10 – Came on too late to make an impact

Jayden Bogle 6/10 – Came on too late to make an impact

Ismaila Coulibaly  6/10 – Came on too late to make an impact

Manchester City vs Sheffield United Match Summary and Highlights

Sheffield United have failed to pull off one of the biggest FA Cup shocks of all time as they succumbed to a 3-0 defeat at the hands of a Manchester City team who never seemed to get out of second gear. Three goals from Algerian winger, Riyad Mahrez, were the difference after the Blades originally kept City out for 43 minutes.

Given how easy it was for the Premier League outfit in the end, Iliman Ndiaye may well go to sleep tonight wondering just how differently the game would have gone had he scored a golden opportunity in the first minute of the game. The forward received a knockdown in the penalty area following a corner but could only direct the ball straight into Ortega in the middle of the City goal.

In truth, the Championship side didn’t threaten the City goal at all after that but they did frustrate them for much of the first half with some dogged defending. However, all that work was undone when teenager Jebbison swiped at Bernado Silva in the penalty area and gifted the Blues an opportunity to open the scoring from 12 yards.

Interestingly, Erling Haaland decided to give the penalty to Riyad Mahrez perhaps embarrassed by his miss against Bayern Munich in the week. The underrated Algerian sent Foderingham the wrong way and then added two more in the second half to seal the deal.

Player Of The Match: Riyad Mahrez

Mahrez was unquestionably the player of the match and his three goals have taken City closer to the treble. His penalty at the end of the first half was emphatic and his third goal was cooly taken, too. However, the pick of his goals was the second – the 32-year-old nicked the ball off Max Howe on the halfway line before drilling through the heart of the Sheffield United defence before slotting the ball past Foderingham.

 

 


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