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Player ratings: City v Liverpool

Cape Town - Manchester City brushed aside pretenders to the crown and Sport24 rates the performances of both sides.

As it happened: Manchester City v Liverpool

A Stevan Jovetic double and a third by Sergio Aguero, who had been on the field for just 23 seconds, helped Manchester City send out an ominous warning to those with designs on their Premier League crown.

Here is how Sport24 rated the performances at the Etihad:

MANCHESTER CITY

JOE HART
Decent performance from the England keeper. Did well on the few occasions he was called upon to intervene. 8

PABLO ZABALETA
Liverpool failed to test his fitness but the another good display by the Argentinian. He was unfortunate to score the own goal. 6

MARTIN DEMICHELIS
Sterling showed him up for speed earlier on but the centre back has plenty of guile and hardly looked like a weak link. 7

VINCENT KOMPANY
Hardly had any work to do but when called up was his usual forceful self. Another feather in his cap. 8

GAEL CLICHY
Had a tough game dealing with Sterling but as the Liverpool youngster faded, Clichy attacked more. 7

SAMIR NASRI
Not a great first half in which he struggled to maintain possession but delivered the goods in the second period. 7.5

YAYA TOURE
Another below par performance (by what we've come to expect from Yaya) but confident as always on the ball or in defence. 7.5

FERNANDO
The stats will show he had a brilliant passing game but he was very poor in the first half. 6.5

DAVID SILVA
Faded rather quickly and was withdrawn just after the hour mark. Not his best night. 6

STEVAN JOVETIC
Where did this guy come from? An excellent all-round display means that Jovetic walks away with the Man of the Match award. 9

EDIN DZEKO
Very underrated by his own club's fans, another decent performance by the Bosnian striker. 7

JESUS NAVAS (for Silva, 65')
His through ball for Aguero's goal was incredible. 7

SERGIO AGUERO (for Dzeko, 68')
Give this man an inch of space and 23 seconds and he will score. A great season lies in wait. 8

FERNANDINHO (for Jovetic, 80')
Too little time to make an impact. 6

LIVERPOOL

SIMON MIGNOLET
Reds fans will be calling for his head if he doesn't work on his positioning. 5

GLEN JOHNSON
Not a great performance by the defender who loves to push forward. A potential weakness exposed by City's wingers. 5.5

DEJAN LOVREN
Could have prevented the first goal with a stronger header and not a great night in general for Reds defenders. 5

MARTIN SKRTEL
Typical hard tackling performance by Skrtel. Tried his best to contain a rampant City attack. 7

ALBERTO MORENO
His error led to the first goal but made up for it with a goal saving tackle on Dzeko in the second half. Not allowed to barge forward. 5

JOE ALLEN
Great first half but was almost non-existent as City upped the tempo. 6

STEVEN GERRARD
Not sure where Gerrard fits into this side, he's not an out-and-out defensive midfielder nor capable of playing as a box-to-box midfielder. 5.5

RAHEEM STERLING
Liverpool's leading player on the night, made many great runs but City scrambled well to contain his threat. 7.5

JORDAN HENDERSON
Had a half chance after a clever free kick move but his touch left him. Ultimately had too much defensive work to do. 6.5

PHILLIPE COUTINHO
Another player who was very good in the first half but faded, badly, in the second 45. 6.5

DANIEL STURRIDGE
Very good in the first half but failed to find the spaces needed to threaten the goals. City contained him well in the second half. 7

LAZAR MARKOVIC (for Coutinho, 60')
Showed, in just 30 minutes, why Rodgers paid 20 million pounds for him. 7

EMRE CAN (for Allen, 75')
Had a late taste of the action but will enjoy better nights. 6

RICKIE LAMBERT (for Sterling, 79')
Caused Zabaleta to score an own goal but should've grabbed a second as well. 6.5

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