Norwich 0-4 Man City: Player ratings as Sterling scores hat trick in easy win
Manchester City made light work of Norwich on Saturday night as Raheem Sterling's hat trick and Phil Foden's strike gave them a 4-0 victory.
Sterling curled in the opener in the 31st minute, with Foden's effort coming in the second half to kill the game off as a contest. Sterling then got his second by prodding in Ruben Dias' header across goal.
Bernardo Silva struck the post early on before Grant Hanley had a header bounce back off the woodwork. Norwich's resistance was impressive but City eventually found the breakthrough courtesy of a mistake from Max Aarons.
The right back failed to clear Kyle Walker's cross and the ball fell to Sterling to excellently whip into the far corner.
The Canaries couldn't stop the visitors from doubling their lead just after the start of the second half as Foden scrappily bundled in following great work from Sterling and Ilkay Gundogan, with goal-line technology awarding the goal despite Hanley's desperate efforts.
With Norwich's spirit pretty much broken, the Premier League champions helped themselves to a third and Sterling's second as Dias headed Foden's cross to the England international for a tap in at the back post.
Sterling completed his hat trick in the 90th minute after Hanley bundled into substitute Liam Delap for a penalty. Angus Gunn stopped the initial spot-kick, but the ball fell perfectly for Sterling to complete the 4-0 victory.
That took his tally for the season up to 12 in all competitions - only Riyad Mahrez (16) has managed more for City.
The victory takes City 12 points clear of Liverpool in second as their title defence continues, while Norwich are 18th, a point from safety.
Norwich player ratings
1. Goalkeeper & defenders
Angus Gunn (GK) - 6/10 - Good save to stop Sterling but couldn't deny him the second time. Powerless in the face of City's attacking riches. Saved Sterling's penalty but the rebound went in.
Max Aarons (RB) - 5/10 - Showed some attacking intent early on, skipping past Zinchenko before having a shot blocked. Should have cleared Walker's cross which led to Sterling's opener.
Grant Hanley (CB) - 5/10 - Saw his header come back off the post from Lees-Melou's cross. Got stuck in with some tackles and a lot of clearances. Bundled into Delap to give away the late penalty.
Ben Gibson (CB) - 6/10 - Nearly got to the rebound of Hanley's header but was denied by Fernandinho. Like Hanley, tasked with repelling City's balls into the box.
Brandon Williams (LB) - 5/10 - Great tackle on Mahrez set up a Norwich attack. Some bright moments and tried hard but ultimately a hard evening.
2. Midfielders
Billy Gilmour (CM) - 6/10 - Decent opportunity to pick out Sargent but couldn't get his delivery right.
Pierre Lees-Melou (CM) - 5/10 - Nice cross set up Hanley to hit the post. Got away with a careless pass that went straight to Foden.
Kenny McLean (CM) - 6/10 - Placed a shot just wide after some nice build-up play from Pukki, Sargent and Gilmour.
3. Forwards
Josh Sargent (RW) - 5/10 - Didn't have many chances to make an impact. Did win. Won six aerial duels.
Teemu Pukki (ST) - 5/10 - Played in by Williams but saw his shot saved at the near post by Ederson. Couldn't replicate his heroics against City from the 2019/20 season.
Milot Rashica (LW) - 6/10 - Started brightly, robbing Dias of possession, though the flag eventually went up for offside. Had a few half-chances that just never went his way.
4. Substitutes
Mathias Normann (CM) - 5/10 - Came into central midfield and was pretty wasteful in possession.
Sam Byram (RB) - 5/10 - Just a fifth Premier League appearance of the season for the 28-year-old.
Kieran Dowell (RW) - N/A - Brought into the action late on and hardly had a kick.
Manchester City player ratings
5. Goalkeeper & defenders
Ederson (GK) - 6/10 - Not the most energy-sapping game for the Brazilian, who had little to do between the City sticks.
Kyle Walker (RB) - 7/10 - Grabbed the assist for Sterling's strike, helped by some less than inspiring defending from Aarons. His cheat code pace helped City repel most of Norwich's attacks/
Ruben Dias (CB) - 7/10 - Booked in the first half for a cynical challenge on Rashica. Great header back across goal for Sterling's second.
Nathan Ake (CB) - 7/10 - Should have scored at the back post from a corner. Not too much to do defensively as City dominated.
Oleksandr Zinchenko (LB) - 7/10 - Had one iffy moment with Aarons but also played some intelligent and dangerous passes. Heavily involved, having more touches (114) than any other player.
6. Midfielders
Ilkay Gundogan (CM) - 7/10 - Made some good attacking runs and had a header saved by Gunn. Played a nice role in the second goal.
Fernandinho (CM) - 7/10 - Great clearance to deny Gibson after Hanley had hit the post. Mopped up in his usual screening role.
Bernardo Silva (CM) - 7/10 - Early chance cannoned back off the post and into Gunn's grateful arms.
7. Forwards
Riyad Mahrez (RW) - 7/10 - Had a strike batted away from Gunn just after the half-hour mark.
Phil Foden (ST) - 8/10 - Smashed a 25-yard strike well over the top. Showed excellent composure to work an angle and finish for City's second. Great cross helped Dias set up Sterling.
Raheem Sterling (LW) - 9/10 - Opened the scoring with a terrific strike, curling into the top corner. In the right place at the right time to grab his second and got his treble on the rebound from his penalty. Found plenty of space out wide and was electric all evening.
8. Substitutes
James McAtee (CM) - 5/10 - Got 15 minutes as Silva's replacement.
Liam Delap (ST) - 6/10 - Did well to earn a penalty in his brief runout.
Kayky (RW) - N/A - The teenager got his Premier League debut late in the second half.
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