Manchester City 3-0 Marseille: Player Ratings as Sergio Aguero Marks Comeback With a Goal

Manchester City retained their unbeaten record in Group C as they cruised to a comfortable 3-0 win over Marseille at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday night, with the returning Sergio Aguero marking his comeback from injury with a goal.

Despite completely dominating the early proceedings, the home side looked to have conceded the first goal of the game after Dimitri Payet stroked home with a sumptuous outside-of-the-boot finish, though the former West Ham man was correctly flagged offside.

After a frustrating opening 45 minutes it took less then three minutes for City to open the scoring in the second period, with Riyad Mahrez driving at the Marseille backline before Ferran Torres applied a tidy finish.

With little over ten minutes remaining the game was effectively ended as a contest after Aguero notched a typical striker's goal, pouncing on the rebound from Nathan Ake's header to double City's lead, before Raheem Sterling rounded off the scoring with a scrappy goal in injury time.

Anyway, enough of the match highlights, let's get into those City player ratings.

Manchester City

1. Goalkeeper & Defenders

Zack Steffen (GK) - 6/10 - Champions League debut for the 25-year-old. Given very little do throughout the contest but did the basics well enough.

Kyle Walker (RB) - 7/10 - Adopted his usual position high on the City right. Produced a rocket of an effort in the second half which kept Steve Mandanda in the Marseille goal on his toes and was a threat all game.

Aymeric Laporte (CB) - 7/10 - Looked very solid despite an unexpected change in centre-back partner midway through the first half.

Eric Garcia (CB) - 6/10 - Hobbled off with an injury midway through the first half. Looked composed prior to his departure but was never really asked any questions by the visitors.

Nathan Ake (LB) - 5/10 - Attempted to mirror Walker's wing-back-esque role but clearly much less comfortable in the final their than the England man. Can definitely fill in at left-back but can't be expected to play with the same attacking intent as Benjamin Mendy.

2. Midfielders

Fernandinho (CM) - 7/10 - Kept things ticking over in the midfield and never really looked like breaking a sweat. Showed his usual fantastic reading of the game to breakup play whenever it was needed.

Ilkay Gundogan (CM) - 6/10 - One of only two players in the starting XI to survive from the Premier League win against Fulham on Saturday. Did a decent job of mopping up in the midfield before being withdrawn at half-time.

Bernardo Silva (CM) - 7/10 - His usual busy, creative self. Evidently singled out by the visitors as a danger man and was often crowded out, but still showed the work rate to continue to battle and open up space for his teammates.

3. Forwards

Riyad Mahrez (RW) - 8/10 - The other survivor from the weekend alongside Gundogan. Makes the game look simple as he seamlessly controls long diagonals with the outside of his boot. Drove at the visitors' backline and unpicked the lock of a resolute defensive unit. Quality.

Ferran Torres (ST) - 7/10 - Showed plenty of composure in producing a tidy finish for the game's opener. Looked far more threatening following the introduction of Sterling but was a menace throughout.

Phil Foden (LW) - 5/10 - Started the game brilliantly and looked like being the catalyst for any good City play, but his influence soon began to fade. Still endeavoured to join in with play but far less effective than he was in the early stages.

4. Substitutes

John Stones (CB) - 6/10 - Another solid display from a man who looks to be slowly rebuilding his City career.

Raheem Sterling (LW) - 7/10 - Came off the bench at half-time and made an instant impact. Constantly looking to turn and run at defenders and provided a number of perfectly-weighted through-balls.

Sergio Aguero (ST) - 7/10 - A welcome return for City's all-time leading goalscorer ahead of the weekend's Manchester derby. Got a good half-hour under his belt as he looks to regain match sharpness and doubled City's lead on the night.