Player ratings vs. Man City

A match that felt like a free hit and ultimately granted us nothing.

Here are my ratings:

Schmeichel: 7 - Pulled off some good saves, but his distribution was put to the test often and he didn't always come up with good answers. It's rare that he gifts an opponent a goal through miscontrol, but it's evident that his passing isn't of the standard of the top sweeper-keepers.
Castagne: 6 - Generally managed to cope with the targeted attacks down his side, but was very limited going forward as a result.
Soyuncu: 6 - No catastrophic errors today, but played things very safe on the ball. Could hold off the press with sideways passing but was unable to break it.
Vestergaard: 8 - Was able to break the press several times. Looked secure on the ball and committed in the air. Much better outing than his 30 minutes against Wolves.
Bertrand: 6 - Solid, disappearing into the game somewhat and again not really able to supplement the attack.
Tielemans: 8 - The key man in breaking the press and pretty much every move went through him for 60 minutes. It was a high-risk strategy from the manager, relying very heavily on Tielemans' capability on the ball. In fact, the team probably tried to use him too much, often looking for him when better options were available. Probably my choice for our MOTM, although nobody truly stood out to demand the accolade.
Ndidi: 7 - Largely avoided by Man City's play, which primarily sought overlaps on the flanks. Often dropped into the back line to cover the defence being dragged out of shape, and had a good day on the ball.
Albrighton: 6 - Enthusiastic but limited in attack, looking for balls beyond the defence but a mixed bag on whether he got them right or not. Always willing to help out defensively.
Maddison: 5 - Made himself available when Tielemans was able to look up, but too often wasn't able to do anything with the ball once he had it. Looks a shadow of the player we want him to be, and Rodgers really shouldn't stick with him much longer when there are other options available.
Barnes: 4 - Had a really tough time against Kyle Walker, as he couldn't use his pace against him. Met a couple of Jamie Vardy crosses but otherwise unable to influence the game. Looked completely spent mentally by the time he was replaced.
Vardy: 7 - A threat, not backed up well enough by his teammates. Took his phantom goal well even though the flag went up and created some good chances with his movement and vision.

Evans: 6 - It can't be said for certain that a change in centre halves was a contributing factor to the goal, but I always fear it can. Hard to judge well as Man City dropped off ten yards after they scored so Evans had more room in which to operate.
Iheanacho: 8 - Lively and entertaining; not everything came off but he provided a genuine threat to Man City in the last 15 minutes. Asking some serious questions about why he's not starting when Maddison and Barnes look so off-colour.
Lookman: 7 - Keen to impress, some things he did well, other things not so well. A bit wild, but the game arguably called for that.

Although Man City had the best of it, it was a game we could have got something out of on another day. On this day, it wasn't to be. At least there were improvements in the general performance, even though the support players in attack still look behind where we'd want them. It'll be interesting to see where and when we make some changes over the next two games, because with the squad as it is I'd expect some, and in several areas of the pitch.

A final thought is this: Can somebody please shoot the stadium sound man? The volume before the match is horrific, as is the music choice. And as for walking out of the match to the solemn vocal warblings of Adele? I'm no disparager of ballads but there's a time and a place, and that was neither.