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Steffen: Considering Birmingham had so little ball, Steffen was surprisingly busy and had to make a few saves. A comfortable afternoon for the American stopper, who deserves more playing time in the next rounds. seven
To cancel: He has arguably been the most creative player this season apart from De Bruyne and pushed forward into central midfield at every opportunity. However, he spent far too much of his half on the field, losing possession unnecessarily. 6
Walker: Played as a right-back or center-back depending on where Cancelo was and City’s progress with the ball. Vocal by organizing the defense and encouraging him to see him spend 90 minutes. seven
Days: Guardiola has explained how he can play three times a week before this one, so maybe it shouldn’t have been a surprise to see him start. A rash crack, but otherwise does its job with a minimum of fuss. seven
Mendy: His first start since the turgid draw against West Brom last month and Birmingham have enjoyed getting behind him a few times. I didn’t really move forward to whip balls into the box, the stronger part of his game. 6
Rodri: Upset his manager in the first half when he turned into trouble and didn’t get rid of quickly enough, but otherwise he recycled possession effectively and kept the team headed in the right direction. seven
Bernardo: Nice technique to score your first goal of the season and then do the right run to score another. Impossible to reproduce this success in the second half when a few chances of a hat-trick arose. 8
From Bruyne: His class quickly shone with a number of defensive passes. Another decisive pass for the season, but he will surely have been grateful to get up for the second half. 8
Mahrez: City’s best player in the first half, close to his best as he clinically drilled holes in Birmingham’s defense. Calmer in the second half, but unfortunately refused a nice goal when he stole Rodri’s chip home but was put offside in what seemed like a questionable decision. 9
Foden: Another start, another goal and more promising signs. Foden is difficult to leave the team in this form and he also enjoyed coming back to midfield. seven
Jesus: Promising to see him again on the team when he first appeared since testing positive for Covid-19. Should be disappointed to have missed a few opportunities to get on the scoresheet in what was a rout. 6
Substitutes
Harwood-Bellis (for Cancelo, 46): He almost returned the ball home from a corner and settled down alongside Stones without a fuss. seven
Stones (for Dias, 46 years old): Targeted by a Port Vale forward in the FA Cup last year, he was untouchable here as he led the defense picking up where Dias left off. seven
Nmecha (for De Bruyne, 46 years old): Started tentatively but developed in play and a natural run with the ball. More difficult to impress with the competition over. seven
Fernandinho (for Rodri, 67 years old): More had to be done as the team relaxed in the final 20 minutes and allowed Birmingham to threaten Steffen’s goal. 6
Delap (for Jesus, 76): Seemed as surprised as everyone when a bullet was chipped in the box at head height, given City’s preference to keep it down. 6
Not used: Ederson, Zinchenko, Mbete, Gundogan
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