This game could literally signify the loss of the title for Manchester City as they faced a strong Crystal Palace side that has seen a complete turnaround since Alan Pardew took over. The champions had slipped down into fourth place after both Arsenal and Manchester United won this weekend. They could reclaim second spot with a win, also knowing the confidence boost would be well received ahead of the Manchester derby this Sunday.
It was Palace that started the brighter of the two teams as they pushed forward from the first minute and created a clear cut chance within the first two minutes. Martin Kelly was allowed to run with the ball down the left wing and was also given the time and space to put an excellent cross into the box. Jason Puncheon was the first player that could have turned the ball into the net, but missed, which left the ball to Wilfried Zaha who was running into the box. He did get a touch to the ball but his shot was blazed over the crossbar. They had a few half chances after this, but City eventually grew into the game after the first 10 minutes and looked to be finding their feet.
After a Palace chance that was saved easily by Joe Hart, he noticed the run of Sergio Aguero and released the ball early to find the forward player. Julian Speroni came out of his box to try and stop the chance but missed, allowing Aguero a lot more time on the ball. He slipped in David Silva who was coming into the box with no defenders around him and took his shot quickly. Speroni did well to save the shot with his shoulder as he was just getting back to cover his goal. Aguero had another great chance a little later in the game as he pulled the ball across onto his right foot to curl his shot away from the Palace defenders and their keeper only to see it bounce off the far post, much to the relief of Speroni who wasn't able to get across in time.
City became very dominant around the half hour mark as they began throwing everything they had at the home team in the hope of finding the opening goal. Silva had the chance this time, and was allowed space on the edge of the box to get the shot away. The ball rolled along the ground and took a deflection which took some of the pace off the ball. It still caused Speroni some problems though as he had to get down low quickly to stop the ball from hitting the back of the net. The resulting corner from this save was headed on by Edin Dzeko towards the far post where Yaya Toure was in a great position to head the ball, but the ball was cleared off the line before he could get to it.
Then the turning point in the game happened. Against the run of play, Palace won a corner, which was quite poor and the ball was cleared. The ball came to Joel Ward who was hovering outside of the box and he headed the ball back into the box where Scott Dann was waiting for it. His shot was closed down well by Hart but the ball went through his legs as he saved the shot and Glenn Murray reached it before the defender to slot the ball into the open net from close range. City had the right to feel frustrated by the goal as there was the possibility of an offside somewhere in the build-up to the goal that the lineman could have missed.
This left City with even more work to do in the second half, as they hadn't played badly, but they just couldn't take their chances or get past the resilient Palace defence. They would be expected to come out and start pushing for the goal, but Palace were the side to start brightly, just as they had at the beginning of the game.
Silva lost the ball in his own half, close to his own penalty box, causing Fernandinho to have to put in the tackle to try and win the ball back, which he couldn't do and gave away a free kick in a dangerous position on the edge of the box. Puncheon was the player stood over the ball and he curled the ball over the tall City wall and straight into the bottom right corner of the net that Hart had left wide open for him to hit. It was a great strike, but Hart will feel that his wall could have done a better job at defending it, as it looked like Toure ducked as the ball was coming towards him, as he would have been the player able to defend it.
City seemed to push forward with even more intent after this as they now needed three goals to give them the three points that they needed. Palace were still defending really well though and weren't allowing the danger men of City to have much time on the ball in and around the box. The first big chance that City had in the second half was after Puncheon gave away a free kick on the edge of the box which was in the range of Toure as he stepped up to take it. Speroni could only watch as the ball curled back down and landed on the roof of his net. Silva had another chance from outside the box which he tried to curl around towards the far post but couldn't quite get the angles right as the ball sailed wide of the post.
Palace weren't finished yet though as they had another chance from a corner. This time it was Damien Delaney who had the chance on goal at the near post, but Hart was alert and across in time to smother the shot and send it out to safety. They did have a moment of panic though as City had a strong penalty shout in the 70th minute. Yannick Bolasie has made a great tackle to deflect a shot from Fernandinho and as it bounced up again, Murray had his arm raised at his side which the ball hit, Unluckily for City, the referee didn't spot this and the chance was taken away from them.
In the last 15 minutes, City were pushing forward and throwing everything they had at Palace, who were starting to tire after pushing forward and blocking the attacks for the whole game. This paid off for City as Toure pulled one back for the visitors. Samir Nasri puts in a dangerous cross towards the near post with his first touch of the game which Dann clears with ease, but he could only find Toure with the clearance. He took the shot sweetly on the half volley from outside the box and powers the shot into the far side of Speroni's net, giving his team the lifeline that they needed.
Palace's defensive shape did become a lot tighter again the goal and they weren't allowing City too much space in and around the box. They also weren't just sitting back and trying to defend their lead, but were pushing forward to try and possibly snatch a third. It was City who had the last chances of the game, including another chance from Toure who took the shot from a tight angle from the left side of the box. His shot took a deflection which caused Speroni some problems but he managed to get across the goal to palm it away.
This result has caused City to possibly be removed from the title challenge as they are now 9 points behind Chelsea, who also have a game in hand over the champions. They are still in fourth place as well, which leaves them with a lot of work to do in the Manchester derby this weekend, along with the knowledge that they have lost their last three matches on the road. Take nothing away from Palace though; they took their chances and played well to withstand the pressure that was piled on them throughout the game. They can only look up from here as they are nearing the top half of the table with this win.
It was Palace that started the brighter of the two teams as they pushed forward from the first minute and created a clear cut chance within the first two minutes. Martin Kelly was allowed to run with the ball down the left wing and was also given the time and space to put an excellent cross into the box. Jason Puncheon was the first player that could have turned the ball into the net, but missed, which left the ball to Wilfried Zaha who was running into the box. He did get a touch to the ball but his shot was blazed over the crossbar. They had a few half chances after this, but City eventually grew into the game after the first 10 minutes and looked to be finding their feet.
After a Palace chance that was saved easily by Joe Hart, he noticed the run of Sergio Aguero and released the ball early to find the forward player. Julian Speroni came out of his box to try and stop the chance but missed, allowing Aguero a lot more time on the ball. He slipped in David Silva who was coming into the box with no defenders around him and took his shot quickly. Speroni did well to save the shot with his shoulder as he was just getting back to cover his goal. Aguero had another great chance a little later in the game as he pulled the ball across onto his right foot to curl his shot away from the Palace defenders and their keeper only to see it bounce off the far post, much to the relief of Speroni who wasn't able to get across in time.
City became very dominant around the half hour mark as they began throwing everything they had at the home team in the hope of finding the opening goal. Silva had the chance this time, and was allowed space on the edge of the box to get the shot away. The ball rolled along the ground and took a deflection which took some of the pace off the ball. It still caused Speroni some problems though as he had to get down low quickly to stop the ball from hitting the back of the net. The resulting corner from this save was headed on by Edin Dzeko towards the far post where Yaya Toure was in a great position to head the ball, but the ball was cleared off the line before he could get to it.
Then the turning point in the game happened. Against the run of play, Palace won a corner, which was quite poor and the ball was cleared. The ball came to Joel Ward who was hovering outside of the box and he headed the ball back into the box where Scott Dann was waiting for it. His shot was closed down well by Hart but the ball went through his legs as he saved the shot and Glenn Murray reached it before the defender to slot the ball into the open net from close range. City had the right to feel frustrated by the goal as there was the possibility of an offside somewhere in the build-up to the goal that the lineman could have missed.
This left City with even more work to do in the second half, as they hadn't played badly, but they just couldn't take their chances or get past the resilient Palace defence. They would be expected to come out and start pushing for the goal, but Palace were the side to start brightly, just as they had at the beginning of the game.
Silva lost the ball in his own half, close to his own penalty box, causing Fernandinho to have to put in the tackle to try and win the ball back, which he couldn't do and gave away a free kick in a dangerous position on the edge of the box. Puncheon was the player stood over the ball and he curled the ball over the tall City wall and straight into the bottom right corner of the net that Hart had left wide open for him to hit. It was a great strike, but Hart will feel that his wall could have done a better job at defending it, as it looked like Toure ducked as the ball was coming towards him, as he would have been the player able to defend it.
City seemed to push forward with even more intent after this as they now needed three goals to give them the three points that they needed. Palace were still defending really well though and weren't allowing the danger men of City to have much time on the ball in and around the box. The first big chance that City had in the second half was after Puncheon gave away a free kick on the edge of the box which was in the range of Toure as he stepped up to take it. Speroni could only watch as the ball curled back down and landed on the roof of his net. Silva had another chance from outside the box which he tried to curl around towards the far post but couldn't quite get the angles right as the ball sailed wide of the post.
Palace weren't finished yet though as they had another chance from a corner. This time it was Damien Delaney who had the chance on goal at the near post, but Hart was alert and across in time to smother the shot and send it out to safety. They did have a moment of panic though as City had a strong penalty shout in the 70th minute. Yannick Bolasie has made a great tackle to deflect a shot from Fernandinho and as it bounced up again, Murray had his arm raised at his side which the ball hit, Unluckily for City, the referee didn't spot this and the chance was taken away from them.
In the last 15 minutes, City were pushing forward and throwing everything they had at Palace, who were starting to tire after pushing forward and blocking the attacks for the whole game. This paid off for City as Toure pulled one back for the visitors. Samir Nasri puts in a dangerous cross towards the near post with his first touch of the game which Dann clears with ease, but he could only find Toure with the clearance. He took the shot sweetly on the half volley from outside the box and powers the shot into the far side of Speroni's net, giving his team the lifeline that they needed.
Palace's defensive shape did become a lot tighter again the goal and they weren't allowing City too much space in and around the box. They also weren't just sitting back and trying to defend their lead, but were pushing forward to try and possibly snatch a third. It was City who had the last chances of the game, including another chance from Toure who took the shot from a tight angle from the left side of the box. His shot took a deflection which caused Speroni some problems but he managed to get across the goal to palm it away.
This result has caused City to possibly be removed from the title challenge as they are now 9 points behind Chelsea, who also have a game in hand over the champions. They are still in fourth place as well, which leaves them with a lot of work to do in the Manchester derby this weekend, along with the knowledge that they have lost their last three matches on the road. Take nothing away from Palace though; they took their chances and played well to withstand the pressure that was piled on them throughout the game. They can only look up from here as they are nearing the top half of the table with this win.
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