Premier League 2018-19, Crystal Palace 1-3 Manchester City: 5 Talking Points and Tactical Analysis

Manchester City had to settle for second place yet again after Liverpool won their match against Chelsea later in the day.
Manchester City had to settle for second place yet again after Liverpool won their match against Chelsea later in the day.

#4 Palace left it too late

Crystal Palace v Manchester City - Premier League
Crystal Palace v Manchester City - Premier League

It was always going to be a tough afternoon at Selhurst Park for Roy Hodgson and his men, but being one of the few teams to have beaten Manchester City this season, the hopes of a big upset was on the cards for the London club.

Hodgson had set up his side to counter-attack at blistering pace whenever the opportunity presented for the Eagles with Wilfred Zaha and Andros Townsend deployed at either end of the pitch and Christian Benteke playing as the lone man up front. If it was Kyle Walker who was responsible for Palace's comeback 3-2 victory at the Etihad last year, it was the same man who was responsible for keeping Wilfred Zaha quiet. The Englishman impressively kept his pacy and tricky compatriot at bay.

Manchester City was at their sublime best in the first half as Palace tried in vain to counter-attack. The City midfield toyed with their counterparts as Silva, De Bruyne and Gundogan sent dangerous balls through the Palace defence. Ultimately it was Kevin De Bruyne through ball that set Raheem Sterling free to score the first goal of the match.

The second half started from where City left off in the first, as Sterling scored his second of the match after a brilliant move from the Citizens.

The Eagles though sparked into life in the last 15 minutes. A foul on the edge of the box by Ilkay Gundogan on James McArthur saw Milivojevic scoring his 12th goal of the season as the Serbian drove his free-kick around the wall to make it an interesting last 10 minutes at Selhurst Park.

It was Palace who put on the pressure in the last 10 minutes of normal time before Gabriel Jesus buried the match with City's third goal.

Quick Links