Crystal Palace 0-0 Manchester City: 5 talking points

Crystal Palace earned a valuable point against runaway league leaders Manchester City, bringing 2017 to a close on a high note.

Kun Aguero came closest to scoring for the visitors while the home side spurned a number of chances of their own, courtesy of Andros Townsend and even a missed penalty by Luka Milivojevic in the dying stages.

Scott Dann was stretchered off just after the first quarter while Gabriel Jesus followed soon after; Kevin de Bruyne and Jason Puncheon also needed to be carried off the pitch near the end of regulation time.

#5 Palace pinch City pockets, hold marauders goalless

Roy Hodgson’s Crystal Palace became the first team to stop Pep Guardiola’s men scoring in the Premier League. Yes, you read that right; I gave you a heads-up already!

City has scored 61 goals in the league from the 20 games prior to their visit to Selhurst Park, including 5 in the home leg of this very fixture in September.

Palace is only the second team this season who managed to keep the City attack at bay across all competitions. The first team to achieve this feat were Wolves in the Carabao Cup (in normal/extra time) but they ended up losing on penalties.

Palace showed intense discipline to keep the Citizens in check, without simply sitting back and parking the bus. Scott Dann had a bright start before having to be taken off due to injury; his replacement Martin Kelly did a good job too.

Timothy Fosu-Mensah though, was the thorn in the visitors’ side as he pinned back Leroy Sane (and to an extent Kevin de Bruyne) effectively and making several key tackles and blocks in the box.

James Tomkins and Patrick van-Aanholt proved to be an able cast in defence and Wayne Hennessey made himself big during key moments and all of his 6 feet and 6 inches count.

The midfield helped out whenever needed and Wilfried Zaha was as much of a willing outlet in attack as he was in tracking back.

#4 Manchester City looked jaded and beatable

Crystal Palace v Manchester City - Premier League

Manchester City were far from their scintillating best going forward, with their attacking line not achieving their usual telepathic level of sync.

They did not get too many chances either, with Palace defending resolutely and making the visitors work hard for every inch of space and control on the ball.

Sane and de Bruyne were out of tandem with one another, and one occasion visibly marked it; the Belgian voiced his displeasure at the former for checking his run. Had he not, Sane would have been offside, a fact which his coach will have to point out to him later.

Kun Aguero, who replaced Jesus on the pitch with less than half an hour played, came close to breaking the deadlock on more than one occasion. He struck the post, courtesy of a slight deflection, and shot another chance narrowly wide.

Ilkay Gundogan missed a chance too, shooting just over, from a reasonably tight angle. Kyle Walker had a busy – and not very successful – afternoon, trying to keep Zaha in check.

Sterling, who came on in the second half, failed to perform a rescue act for the league leaders; in fact, he ended up conceding a penalty late on.

Overall, City looked far from invincible; they lacked both spark as well as fight and Guardiola will have a talking to with his charges ahead of the upcoming fixtures.

#3 Crystal Palace spurn gilt-edged chances that would have seen them win

Selhurst Park delivered an atmosphere more than worthy of being called the 12th man, backing their players to the hilt; their men on the pitch delivered.

The visitors’ defence and midfield looked far from uncomfortable when Palace went forward, primarily through Zaha, whose every move was cheered on wildly. Indeed, his lung-bursting runs have more often than not yielded favourable results for the Eagles in the recent past.

Andros Townsend and Luka Milivojevic will be the most disappointed men for the home side though. Townsend shot straight at the City defence when Zaha found him at the edge of the box early on and somehow managed to sky his shot into the stands when presented with an almost open goal.

Milivojevic then went on miss a crucial penalty – albeit a soft one – gifted by Sterling and earned by Zaha’s wily run. The Serbian’s shot from six yards was eerily similar to the one Benteke missed vs. Bournemouth, aimed down the centre straight at Ederson.

Given City’s form, run and style, they were never going to present Palace with too many chances. What would have been infuriating for Hodgson and the Eagles faithful was the players not making the most of their best opportunities.

#2 Key injuries mar fixture, with three players stretchered off

Both Hodgson and Guardiola will have been thinking beyond this fixture as it claimed two key men from each side, hopefully not for too long.

It was not a pretty sight watching three players being taken off on the stretcher at various stages of the game, while another fell in a heap close to the dug-out and was lifted off by team staff.

Scott Dann seemed to have hurt his knee while attempting to take on de Bruyne during a City counterattack barely a quarter into the game; he was taken off to warm applause with his knee in braces.

Soon after, Gabriel Jesus engaged in a duel but landed quite awkwardly in a split and looked hurt. He tried to carry on but slumped to the ground in tears just a few minutes later.

The Brazilian forward has been excellent for his side and his emotional state may have been a result of worrying about his place in the national team for the upcoming World Cup.

Kevin de Bruyne and Jason Puncheon were the next injury scalps, with the latter making a rash tackle on the Belgian and costing both players in the process.

With the FA cup beginning next weekend, the last thing any manager would want is for players to be out for extended periods.

Dann and Puncheon are as vital to Palace in their fight to stay up as de Bruyne and Jesus are in forging Pep’s attack and consolidating their status atop the table.

#1 Point key for Palace in battle for survival; City extend lead at the top by 14 points

Crystal Palace are once again engaged in battle at the wrong end of the table and this point may prove to be more than worth its weight in gold when it comes down to the business end of the season in May.

City had won 18 games on the trot – a Premier League record - and no one would have batted an eyelid if they had swatted Palace on their way to a 19th victory.

However, the hosts were an able match in both attack and defence and this performance should lift their spirits going into the second half of the season.

Puncheon and Roy Hodgson can thank their lucky stars for not going a man down; the Palace man should have seen red for his rash tackle on de Bruyne.

On this evidence, Palace are certainly capable of staying afloat, provided lady luck and injuries don’t ruin things unexpectedly.

At the top of the league table, City extended their lead over second-placed Chelsea by 14 points at the end of matchday 21. They may not have looked invincible but they have remained unbeaten this season bar a single loss away to Shakhtar in the Champions League.