Man City: Rating the Premier League champions’ title-winning squad

Manchester City were crowned Premier League champions on Tuesday night as rivals United were beaten by Leicester.

Second-placed United’s 2-1 home loss to third-placed Leicester sealed Pep Guardiola’s third league title with Man City in four seasons, with a treble still on the cards for the Spaniard’s side.

Man City last month secured the Carabao Cup and have a Champions League final to contest with Chelsea later in May, but here we take a look at the Premier League performances of the title-winners’ key contributors, as well as some of the squad’s outsiders:

Ederson – 7: Did what was asked of him for the most part and continues as City’s unthreatened No 1.

Kyle Walker – 7: Right-back is still a little dependent on his pace and that will likely never change, but it didn’t prove too problematic this term.

Ruben Dias – 9: A ridiculous debut season in Manchester. At just 23 years old, the centre-back transformed City’s defence and the team overall.

John Stones – 8: England international was resurgent this term. Old errors occurred from time to time, but the defender did much, much more right than wrong.

Nathan Ake – 5: Campaign was characterised by absence through a recurring hamstring injury.

Aymeric Laporte – 6: Present for approximately half the season leading up to City’s crowning week.

Benjamin Mendy – 5: Spent most of the term on the bench.

Joao Cancelo – 7: A strong second season in England.

Eric Garcia – 4: Twenty-year-old barely featured and is set to leave the club this summer.

Oleksandr Zinchenko – 7: Consistent, reliable. While not one of the first names that springs to mind, the Ukrainian is a key member of the squad.

Ilkay Gundogan – 9: City’s unlikely top goalscorer (so far), the midfielder has enjoyed the best season of his career.

Kevin De Bruyne – 9: While the Belgian’s goals and assists have been down on last term, he contributes constantly in less measurable ways. That cannot be overlooked.

Bernardo Silva – 7: The Portugal international was pivotal in City’s last league title triumph before disappointing somewhat last season. This time, he stood up once more.

Fernandinho – 9: Turned 36 just last week. Midfielder’s performances have been unjustifiably good considering his age.

Rodri – 8: Was upstaged somewhat by Fernandinho but continued his admirable audition to replace the Brazilian.

Riyad Mahrez – 8: A luxury signing three years ago, this was the season in which the winger became essential to City’s success. Shone even more brightly in the Champions League.

Phil Foden – 9: Guardiola’s patient approach with the 20-year-old has paid off. It’s impossible not to factor his youth into any rating, but even dismissing that, the midfielder is a special player.

Raheem Sterling – 8: A stalwart of Guardiola’s City, even amid pressure from Foden.

Ferran Torres – 6: The best is yet to come from the 21-year-old.

Gabriel Jesus – 6: Guardiola’s decision to go without a striker for much of the season speaks to his relative lack of faith in the Brazilian, whose contributions were not negligible but also not inspiring.

Sergio Aguero – 5: Appearances in his final season at the club have been few and far between, owing to injury.

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