The logic was respected…but not without difficulty. Manchester City won on the Crystal Palace pitch this Saturday afternoon, as part of the 32nd day of the Premier League, at the end of a match that was as competitive as it was exciting. Against all expectations, the Citizens were picked up cold after only three minutes of play. Following a poor transmission from John Stones in the opposing camp, the Eagles immediately found Jean-Philippe Mateta in the depth. The Frenchman threw himself into the opposing penalty area before deceiving the vigilance of Stefan Ortega with a powerful right-footed cross strike which shook the net using the left post (3rd). Pep Guardiola’s men immediately reacted by outrageously dominating their opponents in terms of possession and creating interesting situations. And what was supposed to happen happened. Served in the left half-space, Kevin De Bruyne entered the penalty area to unleash a powerful right-footed shot which ended up in Dean Henderson’s opposite corner. A splendid goal which allowed the Skyblues not to doubt for very long. During the rest of the first act, Manchester City continued to impose their rhythm. Erling Haaland and his teammates had dangerous situations. But in the end it was Crystal Palace who came close to regaining the advantage thanks to a strike from Jordan Ayew which hit the crossbar shortly before the break. The two teams therefore returned to the locker room with a parity score.
Crystal Palace-Manchester City: the film of the meeting
In the second act, it was the Eagles who were surprised…from the first seconds. In the 47th minute of play, on a left-side cross from Jack Grealish, Rico Lewis, starting in midfield this Saturday afternoon, inherited the ball. Without hesitation, the Briton performed a magnificent control-strike sequence with his right foot to give his team the advantage (47th). The Citizens didn’t stop there. They pushed for cover. A profitable strategy. And again, the light came from Kevin De Bruyne. Found in the left penalty area by Jack Grealish, the Belgian immediately served Erling Haaland with the outside of his right foot. The Norwegian, little in sight this Saturday afternoon, did not fail to push the ball into the back of the net to score the break goal (66th). Almost immediately, the sparkling Kevin De Bruyne worsened the score with a sharp left-footed strike at the entrance to the penalty area (70th). Crystal Palace, however, did not give up. The Eagles also reduced the score thanks to Odsonne Edouard (86th). But they still lost (2-4). With this victory, Manchester City (2nd) returns (provisionally?) to level with Liverpool and puts pressure on the Reds and Arsenal in the title race. Crystal Palace (14th) misses the opportunity to distance themselves a little more from the red zone.