Manchester City enjoyed a 6-3 win over Manchester United on Sunday afternoon and Manuel Akanji was one of many players who impressed. The 27-year-old was given the nod alongside Nathan Ake and came away with the plaudits after an assured display.
Despite conceding three goals at home, Akanji wasn’t at fault for any of the efforts, so he can hold his head high – no player made more passes (73), no player who started the game had a better pass competition (97.3%) and only Joao Cancelo (3) and Bernardo Silva (3) made more tackles (2).
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Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho were silenced and substituted in the second half after failing to register a shot on target. Bruno Fernandes had just one shot on target and failed to create a chance, so he wasn’t as his playmaking best either.
Man Utd pulled a goal back through a long-range effort from Antony in the 56th minute, but he wasn’t Akanji’s man. United scored a second in the 84th minute after a close-range effort was parried to Anthony Martial. Akanji failed to block the shot that came through, but he had two players to make. United’s third goal was a late penalty that Cancelo conceded.
Jack Gaughan of the Daily Mail gave the 27-year-old a player rating of 8.5/10 and said he produced an ‘almost flawless performance’ and is proving to be a ‘stellar signing’. Simon Bajkowski of the Manchester Evening News gave Akanji a player rating of 9/10 and said he’s a ‘bargain of the season’ contender.
Jude Summerfield of 90min gave a player rating of 7/10 and hailed his performance as ‘confident’. Ian Whittell of the Telegraph gave a player rating of 8/10 and said he was ‘brilliant’ defensively.
Brighton & Hove Albion
Manchester City
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