Manchester City vs Crystal Palace Review
Manchester City staged an impressive comeback, overcoming a 2-0 deficit to defeat Crystal Palace 5-2, thus ending the Eagles’ eight-match unbeaten streak away from home. Given the challenges Manchester City has faced this season, Pep Guardiola is likely eager for it to conclude. However, his team is still in the race for a top-four finish, although their prospects took a hit early on when a well-executed Palace attack led to Ismaïla Sarr setting up an unmarked Eberechi Eze for a tap-in at the far post. City nearly equalized shortly after when Kevin De Bruyne set up Omar Marmoush, but he was denied by Dean Henderson in a one-on-one situation.
Guardiola believed that Chris Richards fouled Marmoush at a crucial moment just as he was about to shoot and thought he should have received a red card. His frustration likely increased shortly after when Richards managed to head in Adam Wharton’s corner from close range. Things got worse for him when Eze scored a third goal, but luckily for Guardiola, the offside flag saved his team from embarrassment.
City capitalized on that break, reducing the deficit just after the half-hour mark with a powerful 30-yard free-kick from De Bruyne. James McAtee nearly equalized right after the restart, but with City gaining confidence, they didn’t have to wait long for the equalizer. Although there was some luck in how the ball reached Marmoush in the box, his finish from six yards was anything but fortunate. The comeback should have been completed before halftime, but just two minutes into the second half, City finished the job. It was a straightforward play as De Bruyne set up Mateo Kovačić at the edge of the area, who calmly placed the ball into the bottom corner.
McAtee missed at least two excellent opportunities to score today, but he eventually found the net by sprinting behind the defense to connect with Ederson’s precise pass, controlling the ball, evading Henderson, and sliding it into an open goal. City appeared to be at their unstoppable best, and they added a fifth goal ten minutes before the end, courtesy of Nico O’Reilly, who volleyed in from the edge of the box. This capped off a fantastic victory for City, putting significant pressure on their top-four competitors to deliver later this weekend.
