Manchester City 5 (Kevin De Bruyne 33′, Omar Marmoush 36′, Mateo Kovacic 47′, James McAtee 56′, Nico O’Reilly 79′)
Crystal Palace 2 (Eberechi Eze 8′, Chris Richards 21′)
Here are the City player ratings as Manchester City picked up a vital three points with a 5-2 victory over Crystal Palace. The win sees Pep Guardiola’s side move up to fourth on the Premier League table ahead of this weekend’s fixtures.
Phil Foden missed today’s match due to injury. Eyebrows were raised when the starting lineups were announced but the performance of Pep Guardiola’s side validated the team selection from their manager as they overcame a 2-nil deficit to pick up a crucial victory.
First half
Manchester City began the game well in possession and did look comfortable in the game’s opening stages. But there wasn’t any real threat to their early play, and their best chance fell to James McAtee, who hit a tame shot straight at Dean Henderson in the Palace goal in the 5th minute.
Crystal Palace take the lead through Eberechi Eze.
But despite City’s bright start in possession, it would be Crystal Palace who would take the lead in the 8th minute. Oliver Glasner’s side looked calm in possession and played their way out from the back with aplomb. The move found Ismaila Sarr in acres of space on the right wing, and his pinpoint pass found Eberechi Eze in the box, who was left with the simple task of tapping in at the back post past Ederson. It was a simple goal and Crystal Palace exposed City’s frailties in the move.
Manchester City did respond to the early setback in the 11th minute. Omar Marmoush was played through by Kevin De Bruyne but his tame shot was blocked when the Egyptian international was clean through. Kevin De Bruyne’s follow-up shot was blocked, and it went behind for a corner. There was a shout for a penalty due to a shirt pull on Omar Marmoush by Tyrick Mitchell. But the penalty shout was turned down after a brief VAR check.
Crystal Palace doubles their lead.
The visitors would make it 2-nil through Chris Richards in the 21st minute. A quality corner was delivered by Adam Wharton and Richards headed home from inside the six-yard box. Ederson was blocked by Jean-Phillpe Mateta and was caught in no man’s land. Richards beat Ruben Dias to the ball and it was a simple but effective corner routine that undid the Manchester City defence.
In the 24th minute a, quality Kevin De Bruyne strike from outside the Crystal Palace penalty area smacked the post with Dean Henderson beaten. Ilkay Gundogan got to the rebound, but his cutback couldn’t find any of his teammates and the chance was gone.
Eberechi Eze has a goal ruled out for offside in the 28th minute. It was a quality finish from Eze but that moment proved to be pivotal in the match as Manchester City made their move from that point onwards.
Kevin De Bruyne brings Manchester City back into the game.
Manchester City got themselves back into the game in the 33rd minute. Nico was fouled on the edge of the area which gave Manchester City a free kick in a dangerous position. Kevin De Bruyne fired in the free kick which beat Dean Henderson after hitting the post to make it 2-1 and give City a way back into the game.
Save Story
