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Manchester City were held to a disappointing 2-2 draw by Crystal Palace at the Etihad Stadium in the Premier League on Saturday, December 16.
City entered this game on the back of three wins, one draw and one defeat. Their last game was an entertaining 3-2 win over Crvena Zvezda in the Champions League en route to completing a perfect group stage with six wins from six games.
Pep Guardiola and his men were four points behind leaders Liverpool prior to kick off. The Spaniard fielded a strong XI as he looked to climb up the table.
Manchester City dominated possession in the first half and looked to control the game by drawing Crystal Palace onto them. This strategy allowed them to use the wide areas as Bernardo Silva and Jack Grealish found loads of space. The hosts had the ball for 74% of the time and attempted 14 shots with five on target.
Grealish opened the scoring in the 24th minute following an assist from Phil Foden, who turned well before passing the ball forward.
Crystal Palace were hit with another injury blow as defender Joel Ward was subbed off shortly after the half hour mark and replaced by David Ozoh.
Manchester City led 1-0 at the break.
The hosts doubled their lead shortly after the game resumed but the goal was disallowed since Rodri was offside. Shortly after, City scored again through Rico Lewis but the goal stood since the play was legal.
Jean-Philippe Mateta pulled one goal back for Crystal Palace after 76 minutes after Jeffrey Schlupp found him with a smart pass.
Foden gave a penalty away in the dying embers and the Eagles' Michael Olise converted with great composure to make it 2-2.
On that note, let's take a look at the five hits and flops from the game.
#5. Hit - Jack Grealish (Manchester City)
Grealish made a positive start to the game and passed the ball around well. He also made great runs to get in behind Crystal Palace's lines to create goalscoring chances. He opened the score for Manchester City in the 24th minute with a smart run and finish to convert Phil Foden's pass.
He passed the ball with 88% accuracy, including two key passes and one long ball. The Englishman also won four duels and also attempted one shot on target.
#4. Flop - Ederson (Manchester City)
Despite ending up on the winning side, Ederson barely deserved to finish the first period on the pitch after a horrendous challenge on an opponent.
Facing a clear run towards his goal, Ederson rushed out and lunged in with a raised foot and tackled Crystal Palace's Jean-Phillippe Mateta. He took the striker out clean with a bad tackle and was lucky not to be sent off by referee Paul Tierney.
#3. Hit - Dean Henderson (Crystal Palace)
Henderson made a great start to the game between the sticks for Crystal Palace. He made seven saves throughout the game and also distributed the ball with 47% accuracy.
Had it not been for the former Manchester United man, City could have won the game by a cricket score.
#2. Flop - Phil Foden (Manchester City)
Foden made a decent start and assisted Grealish's goal to make it 1-0 to Manchester City in the 24th minute. However, the Englishman lost his composure late in the game and conceded a penalty with nearly the last touch of the contest.
Michael Olise stepped up and converted from the spot to make it 2-2 and earn a crucial point for Crystal Palace.
#1. Hit - Ruben Dias (Manchester City)
Ruben Dias was rock solid at the back for City and defended really well. He kept Jean-Philippe Mateta in check for most of the game but the striker snuck in to grab a goal late in the second half. Apart from that, Dias had no blips in his game.
He won five of his six duels, making two tackles, one interception and one clearance. He completed a staggering 173 passes - several more than anyone else on the pitch, which included one key pass and four long balls.
