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Match Report and Player Ratings: Crystal Palace 2-4 Manchester City (Premier League)

Published:

15:25

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| Last Updated:

15:25

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A pair of Kevin De Bruyne goals helped spur another comeback on the road as Manchester City continue to put pressure on Liverpool and Arsenal at the top of the Premier League table.

Jack Grealish was involved in all four goals, as Erling Haaland and Rico Lewis both got themselves back on the scoresheet.

Manchester City now sit tied at the top of the Premier League table, with Arsenal and Liverpool having not played their matches yet.

Manchester City found themselves trailing early when Crystal Palace scored on their first counter-attack of the game. Just seconds after a John Stones misplaced pass, Jean-Philippe Mateta smashed the Eagles ahead.

Despite the early deficit, the Sky Blues bounced back immediately. Both Julian Alvarez and Rodri had the efforts denied by Crystal Palace goalkeeper Dean Henderson inside the opening 10 minutes. However, De Bruyne equalised in the 13th minute with a sensational curling effort.

It was a world class strike from the Belgian, who found himself with a yard of space on the left side of the box and fired home his strike into the top right corner. The goal was setup by Jack Grealish, who attacked the by-line before having his cross deflected into the path of De Bruyne.

Crystal Palace had their best opportunity to retake the lead in the 37th minute, when Rodri was dispossessed inside City’s defensive third. However, the Ghanaian forward had multiple teammates open far side and elected to go for goal himself and caught the crossbar. 

Manchester City grabbed the lead just 95 seconds into the second-half however, when Rico Lewis got on the end of a Jack Grealish cross that Palace were unable to properly clear. 

The defending Premier League champions got a few favorable bounces after an attempted headed clearance put the ball at the feet of Lewis, and the 19-year-old’s shot took a deflection on the way in. 

The Sky Blues were able to grab an insurance goal in the 66th minute when Haaland tapped in a De Bruyne cross. It was set up by Jack Grealish again, who played an excellent ball in behind the Crystal Palace defence for De Bruyne to chase. 

The dagger came moments later when Kevin De Bruyne grabbed his second goal of the day. It was a vintage Manchester City goal, assisted by Rodri with some help from Grealish.

Crystal Palace grabbed a goal back in the 86th minute when Odsonne Edouard poked in a cross from Jeffrey Schlupp on a counter attack. 

Kevin De Bruyne was given a rest in the 92nd minute when Bernardo Silva was brought on to replace the captain. 

Here are our player ratings from Manchester City’s win over Crystal Palace!

Player Ratings:

Stefan Ortega – 7

Wasn’t at fault for either goal and showed some excellent footwork to get himself out of a jam after a poor back pass from Rodri. Continues to be great with Ederson sidelined.

Rico Lewis – 8

Another unsung performance from the 19-year old. Wasn’t involved in the game as much in the second-half, but walked away with a goal to show for it.

John Stones – 6

Was at fault for the opening goal, and looked out of it at times in the first half. Hopefully just a one-off performance and not a trend.

Ruben Dias – 8

Don’t know if I’ve ever seen Dias more involved in the build-up before. Could’ve been better for Palace’s opening goal, but made up for it when in possession.

Josko Gvardiol – 7

It’s a shame the Croatian picked up an injury because there appeared to be no other reason for the early substitution. 

Rodri – 6.5

The assist will hide what was a pretty lacklustre performance.

Kevin De Bruyne – 9.5 (MOTM)

Three goal contributions and maybe one of the best goals scored during the Guardiola era. Had looked out of form as of late but clearly is back to his best.

Julian Alvarez – 6.5

Wasn’t involved much in the build-up. However, the Argentine did seem more composed on the ball and didn’t lose possession as often as he has in the past.

Oscar Bobb – 7

Was great in the opening moments, but the game appeared to drift more towards De Bruyne and Grealish during the second-half. 

Jack Grealish – 9

The stats are not going to jump out at you but this was one of Grealish’s best performances of the season. Was involved in all four goals and barely put a foot wrong all day.

Erling Haaland – 7

Was great to see the Norwegian get back on the scoresheet after missing his first chance. Hopefully starts to build some rhythm before Madrid. 

Substitutes:

Manuel Akanji – 6.5

Was put in an awkward position coming in to play left back. Didn’t look great at times but the buildup was shaky at times for a lot of City players. 

Matheus Nunes – 6.5

Mateo Kovacic – 6.5

Bernardo Silva – N/A

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