Manchester City climbed above Liverpool and into third place with a 5-0 thrashing of Crystal Palace at the Etihad Stadium.
David Silva gave the hosts the lead with just 114 seconds on the clock, before Vincent Kompany, Kevin de Bruyne, Raheem Sterling and Nicolas Otamendi got their own names on the scoresheet in the second half.
Pep Guardiola’s men are now four points clear of fifth-placed Manchester United in the race for the Champions League qualification spots, while Palace remain six points above the relegation zone at the time of writing.
#1 David Silva masterclass eases City to victory
Silva was not fully fit on Saturday and had to be withdrawn in the 68th minute, which was just as well for Palace. The visitors to the Etihad could not handle the Spain international during his time on the pitch, as he caused havoc in an advanced role.
City lined up in a 4-1-4-1 formation, with Silva spending most of the match operating as a No. 10 – a glance at the two teams’ average position maps shows the 31-year-old just behind lone striker Gabriel Jesus. Silva repeatedly peeled off Palace’s holding midfielder Luka Milivojevic and took up dangerous positions between the lines, from where he threaded pinpoint passes through to his attacking team-mates.
It was Silva who opened the scoring early on, as he swept the ball into the back of the net after Martin Kelly’s weak clearing header. Not only did the former Valencia man convert the chance, he created it too: Silva’s looping pass to Sterling opened up the Palace defence and turned tidy possession play into a scoring opportunity.
City’s No. 21 has had another excellent season, but it still feels like he does not always get the credit he deserves. Guardiola will have been delighted with his influence on proceedings here, though, particularly as Silva was not even expected to play on Friday.
#2 Crystal Palace defence dismantled
Injuries to Mamadou Sakho, Scott Dann and James Tomkins left Sam Allardyce short of defensive options, but it was still a surprise when the former England boss opted to leave natural centre-half Damien Delaney on the bench.
Palace began the encounter in a 3-5-2 formation, with Andros Townsend at right-wing back, Patrick van Aanholt on the left, and Joel Ward, Martin Kelly and Jeffrey Schlupp in the middle; it was, in effect, a back five made up of three full-backs and two wingers.
Unsurprisingly, it did not work, with Palace pulled apart on several occasions in the opening exchanges. That prompted Allardyce to push Townsend upfield and switch to a 4-3-3 after just 12 minutes, but even the relative familiarity of that system proved unable to stem the tide of City’s constant attacks.
The hosts outclassed their relegation-threatened opponents, but many of the goals they scored were poor from a Palace perspective.
Townsend did not track Sterling for the first, while Kelly’s aforementioned header put the ball on a plate for Silva; Kompany was in acres of space for the second; Wayne Hennessey should have kept out De Bruyne’s effort shortly before the hour; Van Aanholt lost Sterling for the fourth; and almost the entire team failed to prevent Otamendi adding the cherry to the icing on the cake in stoppage time.
#3 City show greater control
There is little doubt that City have underwhelmed this term, with no Premier League title challenge or progress in the Champions League. There have been some magnificent – yet all too fleeting – performances, though, and this rout ranks among the best.
The chief problem for Guardiola in 2016/17 has been his team’s lack of control. Far too often City have allowed matches to descend into chaos, which only happened very occasionally when their manager was at the helm of Barcelona and Bayern Munich. The 2-2 draw at Arsenal last month is probably the best example: City were superb for the opening 30 minutes yet seemed to drift off thereafter, with the Gunners allowed a route back into the game.
Guardiola was very critical of his side in the aftermath of that draw, but he will have been a great deal happier with what he saw on Saturday. Palace were starved of possession in the first half but did occasionally cause problems on the counter-attack, with Christian Benteke going close to an equaliser with a header from Townsend’s cross.
After the interval, though, City barely allowed Allardyce’s charges out of their own half. They pressed effectively and won back the ball almost as soon as it was lost, while Palace struggled to transition from defence to attack. If City can produce more performances like this next season, they will be title contenders.
#4 Zaha shows flashes of quality
Wilfried Zaha was always likely to be Palace’s key player here, much as he has been throughout the last two seasons. It was a difficult match in general for the Eagles, but Zaha deserves credit for his admirable efforts against a team who were simply far stronger in all departments.
Right-back Fernandinho pushed up extremely high in the first period, which gave the Ivory Coast international the chance to run into space on that side of the pitch when Palace won possession. He led his side’s counter-attacks very well, holding off challenges and drawing fouls in dangerous positions; although his final pass let him down on a couple of occasions, Zaha was effective at giving City something to think about defensively.
Reports this week suggested that Tottenham Hotspur have cooled their interest in the 24-year-old, who looks set to be offered a bumper new contract by Palace this summer. A high-profile move to Manchester United earlier in his career did not work out for Zaha, but he may well be tempted to try his luck at another big-six club should the opportunity arise.
#5 Still work to do for both teams
This triumph puts City in pole position to finish third, which would give them automatic qualification for the group stage of the Champions League (the team who ends the campaign in fourth will have to negotiate a potentially tricky play-off). Their remaining games are against Leicester City at home, West Bromwich Albion at home and Watford away on the final day, so it would be a big surprise if they were to throw away their position of strength at this stage.
Nevertheless, Guardiola and his players must avoid complacency as they seek to achieve their minimum objective in the Catalan’s debut campaign in charge. Liverpool, Manchester United and Arsenal are all still locked in the battle for the top four, and City may still require three wins from three to ensure they do not slip down to fifth or sixth.
Palace, meanwhile, have still not made it mathematically certain of their place in the top flight next term, although it would still take a huge turnaround for Allardyce’s side to fall through the trapdoor. Their meeting with Hull City at Selhurst Park next weekend could be pivotal: a win would guarantee survival, but a defeat could leave them looking nervously over their shoulders ahead of a trip to Old Trafford on the final weekend of the season.
