Manchester City earned three vital points to move to fifth in the Premier League table, making their case for Champions League football.
By Vincent Lai
Goals from Carlos Tevez and Emmanuel Adebayor sealed the deal for the Sky Blues on Tuesday. Adam Johnson was the man-of-the-match with his scintillating performance at Eastlands, earning a standing ovation when he was subbed off.
Manchester City:
Shay Given: 6
The Irish custodian didn't have much to do in the game, but was solid between the sticks when he stretched to palm Fabrice Muamba's shot away. Came out for crosses too as Given bravely challenged the aerial prowess of Kevin Davies.
Pablo Zabaleta: 6
The right-back did his job at the back, helping Toure and Kompany to stop Wilshere and Lee when the situation called for it. Ran and supported the attack when his team were dominating possession.
Kolo Toure (off 55'): 6
Did well to counter the strength of Kevin Davies and Elmander as he stood his ground and cleared whatever came his way. Was forced off with an injury.
Vincent Kompany: 6
Had his fair share of Davies and Elmander to deal with as well, and played good zone defence to crowd out Lee and Wilshere in the box.
Wayne Bridge (off 68'): 7
The left-back was constantly on the move as he bustled forward on the overlap, providing much-needed width in City's initial diamond formation. The defender also tracked back to defend without missing a beat, a testament to his excellent conditioning.
Nigel De Jong: 6
The combative midfielder was quiet in this game, surprisingly, and did his job without so much of a grumble as he denied Bolton possession and won the ball back when the Trotters were on the ball.
Patrick Vieira: 6
The Frenchman was adequate in the midfield as he played within himself, winning possession off Wilshere and Cohen and igniting the City break. Vieira looked smooth on the pitch, never trying too hard to impress.
Gareth Barry: 7
Another player who was constantly in motion. Barry joined the attack when he could, distributing the ball excellently in the final third of the pitch, and tracked back to defend almost immediately when his team lost the ball, providing another layer of protection in front of Toure and Kompany.
Adam Johnson (off 84'): 8
The winger was lively in his home debut, buzzing up and down both flanks as he delivered crosses and linked up well with Wayne Bridge. Johnson was the player who won the penalty for the Sky Blues, as he penetrated into the Bolton penalty area and was bundled over by Paul Robinson.
Carlos Tevez: 7
The Argentine attacker was his usual energetic self, though he frequently drifted to the wings to offer support, a move that often left the middle empty in attack. Tevez converted the penalty won by Johnson to give City the lead in the 31st minute.
Emmanuel Adebayor: 8
Adebayor did well to break down Bolton's offside trap, receiving the long ball in the box to fire the volley past a shell-shocked Jussi Jaaskelainen!
Subs:
Shaun Wright-Phillips (on 68'): 6
Provided some pace on the wings in place of Bridge, but seems like a shell of his former self.
Sylvinho (on 84'): NA
Didn't really have time to impress
Joleon Lescott (on 55'): 6
Picked up where Toure left off and did well to crowd out Elmander and Davies.
Bolton:
Jussi Jaaskelainen: 7
Jaaskelainen was probably the main reason why Bolton were always in this game. After a near fumble early in the game, the Finnish goalie promptly upped his game for the rest of the match. Pity that he was beaten by a Tevez penalty and an Adebayor one-on-one that he could not prevent.
Gretar Steinsson: 5
The right-back had problems against the speed and guile of Johnson and Bridge the entire game, especially against the new City recruit, who ran past the Iceland international as if he wasn't there.
Zat Knight: 6
The towering presence in defence did well enough to shield Jaaskelainen on occasion, and was probably the reason why Adebayor was always drifting to the wings to receive the ball (except the moment when the Togo striker's goal was scored).
Sam Ricketts: 4
Played Adebayor on-side in City's second goal, erasing all the good work he had done to that point.
Paul Robinson: 4
Lunged out unnecessarily to bring down Johnson at the edge of the box. Sure, Johnson could have crossed the ball or dribbled his way in, but he wasn't a direct threat at such an acute angle, Paul.
Kevin Davies: 7
The face of Bolton football was, as always, out on the pitch huffing and puffing. The Trotters skipper did all he could, but could not prevent his defence from imploding in this game.
Tamir Cohen (off 74'): 6
The son of Avi Cohen was hardworking in this game, but work ethic is not always enough to win the game for the side.
Fabrice Muamba: 6
Should have scored in the 37th minute when he unleashed his volley on Given's goal. The Zaire-born midfielder had his shot saved by a magnificent Given effort and Bolton lost a valuable chance to equalise.
Jack Wilshere (off 78'): 6
The on-loan starlet from Arsenal impressed in this game as he showed pace, vision and technique on the ball. Wilshere could one day don the red and white jersey of Arsenal, but for now, he needs to get more first team football under his belt, supplying passes to lesser players at the Reebok.
Lee Chung-Yong: 7
The tireless midfielder from South Korea was a thorn in City's side in the entire game, as his constant running gave Toure and Kompany a handful. Lee had a couple of chances to score, but his first touch let him down in both cases.
Johan Elmander: 5
The Swede was tasked with taking down the Manchester City defence on his own, and he failed miserably (who couldn't see that coming?). Other than a couple of off-target shots, Elmander hardly contributed anything to this game.
Subs:
Matthew Taylor (on 78'): 6
Too little, too late as the 2-0 hole was too large for even Taylor to muster anything special to earn a draw.
Mark Davies (on 74'): 5
Had no impact whatsoever.
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