Manchester City have won just one of their last six Premier League games after a late Crystal Palace penalty from Michael Olise resulted in a 2-2 draw between the sides at the Etihad Stadium.
City had dominated the game and were cruising at 2-0 thanks to goals in either half from Jack Grealish and Rico Lewis. But Palace pulled one back against the run of play through Jean-Philippe Mateta and were then awarded a penalty deep into stoppage time.
Pep Guardiola’s haven’t won a home game in the Premier League since their 4 November thrashing of Bournemouth and now head off to Saudi Arabia in the FIFA Club World Cup stewing on that uncharacteristic barren stretch.
How the game unfolded
As City were looking for a way to pick holes in the tightly-packed Palace defensive line, a chipped cross from Kyle Walker almost presented Julian Alvarez with an early opener. The Eagles had the reactions of goalkeeper Dean Henderson to thank for tipping the header to safety.
As City probed, Ruben Dias and Rodri each only just missed the target. But persistence was rewarded midway through the first half when Foden slipped a ball between the Palace defence to Grealish, whose finish was calm and composed. A lengthy VAR check ensued, but the officials were ultimately satisfied that Nathaniel Clyne’s left bum cheek was playing the City winger onside.
Henderson needed to be alert to prevent City from quickly doubling the lead when Josko Gvardiol made a diagonal break from left-back and fired at the Palace keeper.
Mateta had cut a lonely figure up front for Palace until he was involved in a potential flashpoint just before half-time. The towering striker was racing through and touched the ball beyond the onrushing Ederson, before being cleaned out by the City goalkeeper. Ederson was booked, but a more central position could have yielded more severe punishment.
Alvarez thought he had got City’s second early in the second half, only to see an offside flag raised when Rodri was deemed to be interfering with play as the Argentine’s wide free-kick found the net. But it wasn’t much longer for City to wait as Lewis broke forward into the box and was in the right place at the right time for the ball to fall to him a few yards from goal.
On his first Premier League appearance since January, Henderson was in action again at the hour mark, tipping Bernardo Silva’s fierce effort wide.
Palace got back into the game out of the blue. Pep Guardiola won’t have been happy with the lack of pressure on the ball as Marc Guehi sent a long punt forward into the left of the box. Jeffrey Schlupp then held off the attention of Ruben Dias and squeezed in a cross for Mateta to convert.
Then, calamity struck for the champions. Foden, who had been so good on the ball but was culpable in the lack of press for the first Palace goal, was the guilty party for the equaliser. He didn’t have enough awareness of his surroundings and caught Mateta while trying to clear the ball after the Palace striker had got there first. Olise was the calmest man inside the Etihad, slotting past Ederson.
GK: Ederson – 5/10 – Another referee might have viewed his spectacular foul on Mateta a bit more harshly. Moved slightly early for the penalty which made it easier for Olise to score.
RB: Kyle Walker (c) – 6/10 – Composed on the ball but both Palace goals were attacks down his side.
CB: Ruben Dias – 6/10 – Fine on the ball. Didn’t take control of the situation as Palace scored.
CB: Nathan Ake – 6/10 – Not scared to get forward in open play and a danger at corners.
LB: Josko Gvardiol – 7/10 – Spent a lot of time as an extra attacker and was close to scoring.
CM: Rico Lewis – 8/10 – All-action performance from the 19-year-old who was rewarded with a goal.
CM: Rodri – 7/10 – Vital for this City team. That’s even more obvious now he’s back.
RM: Bernardo Silva – 7/10 – Always looking to make things happen in and around the box.
AM: Phil Foden – 5/10 – Had the vision and execution to set up the opener when taking up a position in the tight space between the lines and slipping the ball to Grealish. But didn’t press Guehi on the ball when Palace pulled one back and then gave the penalty away with a clumsy swing of the leg.
LM: Jack Grealish – 7/10 – Took his goal really well and always offered a threat.
ST: Julian Alvarez – 6/10 – Forced a very good early save out of Henderson. Energetic running both on and off the ball. Had the ball in the net but Rodri’s position resulted in an offside flag.
Substitutes
SUB: John Stones (90′ for Lewis) – N/A
Subs not used: Ortega (GK), Gomez, Akanji, Nunes, Kovacic, Susoho, Phillips, Bobb
Manager
Pep Guardiola – 7/10 – The lack of defensive intensity for the Palace goal won’t have pleased him but can have few other complaints against an opponent who approached the game solely trying not to lose.
GK: Dean Henderson – 8/10 – The former Manchester United goalkeeper made some decent saves that ultimately proved crucial in the final result.
RB: Nathaniel Clyne – 5/10 – Being critical, didn’t respond quick enough to the situation when Grealish scored.
CB: Joel Ward (c) – 5/10 – Just too slow to press Foden when the City midfielder set up the breakthrough goal. He pulled up not long after and his afternoon was over.
CB: Joachim Andersen – 6/10 – No Erling Haaland to face up against so it was a different kind of challenge. Could have been stronger in his duels.
CB: Marc Guehi – 7/10 – Probably Palace’s best defender on balance. Had the vision on the ball to send Schlupp racing into space for the goal.
LB: Tyrick Mitchell – 5/10 – Given no end of trouble by City overloads on that side.
RM: Michael Olise – 6/10 – Went closest of any Palace player in the first half with a free-kick. Then kept his nerve right at the end to secure a point.
CM: Chris Richards – 6/10 – Dropped into the back-line when Ward had to go off.
CM: Jairo Riedewald – 6/10 – Looked early on like he could be the weak link in the system but improved as the first half progressed.
LM: Jeffrey Schlupp – 6/10 – Didn’t do enough to help protect Mitchell behind him. Yet his team’s goal was made possible by his run and cross.
ST: Jean-Philippe Mateta – 8/10 – Had the thankless role as the lone striker for a team that knew they wouldn’t see much of the ball. Had three major moments, two of which were directly responsible for Palace goals.
Substitutes
SUB: David Ozoh (34′ for Ward) – 6/10
SUB: Mathias Franca (81′ for Schlupp) – 7/10
SUB: Naouirou Ahamada (81′ for Riedewald) – 6/10
SUB: Eberechi Eze (90′ for Clyne) – N/A
Subs not used: Matthews (GK), Adaramola, Tomkins, Ola-Adebomi, Ebiowei
Manager
Roy Hodgson – 8/10 – Set his team up to contain City but there was no way to attack in such a system. It was only later on that Palace posed any kind of consistent threat, but it worked.
Player of the match – Jean Philippe Mateta (Crystal Palace)
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