Manchester City came away from Selhurst Park with a hard-fought 4-2 victory against Crystal Palace in a pulsating Premier League encounter. While the scoreline suggests a comfortable win for the Citizens, the match was a tense affair with Palace causing problems for Pep Guardiola’s men throughout.

Premier League competition
Date: 6 April 2024
Kick off time: 12:30 BST
Venue: Selhurst Park

Blistering start for Crystal Palace, Manchester City Responds

Within the 3rd minute of the game, Palace started well on the attack with no hesitation to establish their dominance, catching Manchester City off the back foot. Some quick passes were played before Wharton rolled a through ball into Mateta, who directed a low shot across the goal and into the net to start the match with a 1-0 lead.

Guardiola’s men however, responded quickly with creating attacking opportunities to convert to goal. But the chance to level the score was not immediate, as an attempt from De Bruyne possession had narrowly missed the target. De Bruyne, not long after, found a chance to equalise when Jack Grealish’s low cross is deflected, and lands straight to De Bruyne who managed to slot a goal in.

The early stages in this game already proved to be what could be a thriller at Selhurst Park.

Crystal Palace comes away with a loss against Manchester City at home

Second half drama unfolds:

The visitors had an eager start to the second half as they took a 2-1 lead in the 47th minute as Grealish took possession on the left and lifting a cross into the box, connecting to City’s players inside the box with a header from Andersen flicked to Lewis who strikes into the net.

Crystal Palace has been finding it difficult to create more options on attack as the defensive pressure and possession of Manchester City continued to cause problems.

Substitutions were made from Crystal’s side in order to create order on attack and win ball possession with Schlupp replacing Eze.

However, it was short lived as City continued to attack into the goal box, with Haaland slotting the ball at the back of the net. Palace came from two goals behind to draw with City earlier in the season, but this time have struggled to put City under any pressure.

Manchester City continued to be relentless when, within 4 minutes of the last goal, at the 70th minute, De Bruyne and Grealish played a punchy attacking line within the box with De Bruyne thundered a low strike into the bottom left corner, as the final nail in the coffin against Palace.

Palace fight back in the end stages of the match

Palace could not get out of their own half as City was desperate to score again. However, in the 86th minute of the match, Palace maintained an opportunity for the attack end with a drive from Ahamada through the middle and played a pass down to Schlupp who slotted a low cross to Edouard who puts his shot in at close range.

The final score was 4-2 to Manchester City.

Match Statistics: Manchester City vs Crystal Palace

Shots in total: 18 vs 7
Shots on target: 8 vs 4
Total passes: 833 vs 264
Possession: 76% vs 24%
Corners: 9 vs 2
Yellow cards: 1 vs 1
Red cards: 0 vs 0

Looking ahead for both teams:

Crystal Palace: The loss, following a string of defeats, could dent the morale of the squad. Rebuilding belief and maintaining a positive attitude will be crucial for upcoming fixtures. As of now, Palace is sitting at 14th place on the table.

Manchester City: City currently sits second in the Premier League table, three points behind leaders Liverpool. Their performance and result will determine the intensity of their remaining fixtures and their overall title aspirations. But they will also be very pleased with their performance against Crystal Palace.