“It was question of patience” – Pep Guardiola pleased with Manchester City showing in hard-fought Crystal Palace win

Pep Guardiola was delighted with Manchester City’s character after a late Erling Haaland penalty helped claim a narrow 1-0 victory against Crystal Palace on Saturday evening.

A third straight league win keeps up the pressure on leaders Arsenal, who could restore their advantage at the top of the table to five points by beating Fulham on Sunday.

Early efforts from Rodri and Erling Haaland saw the Premier League champions come close to a fast start at Selhurst Park, a typically tricky venue for some of the best sides in the division.

Jack Grealish, a mainstay in Guardiola’s starting XI in recent months, failed to hit the target after a brilliant run through the Eagles backline, much to the in-form England international’s frustrations.

The visitors from Manchester also introduced Julian Alvarez in search of a spark in attack, with the World Cup winner missing a great chance to make the difference after a clever take and turn outside the opposition area.

Amidst a rather underwhelming run of form away from home of late, City seemed destined for another slip up on their travels, which would have given Mikel Arteta and Arsenal the perfect opportunity to steer further ahead of the reigning champions.

However, a late penalty from Erling Haaland sealed a vital three points for City in south London after Ilkay Gundogan was brought down in the Crystal Palace box.

“Everything pleased me, we missed the counter attack a bit,” Guardiola said in reflection of Manchester City’s fourth successive victory across all competitions.

“It is not easy, they (Crystal Palace) defend (with) six players in the box and Erling Haaland had two men marking him, Gundo (Ilkay Gundogan) had a man, it was a question of patience.”

Guardiola hailed his side for battling on and hunting down the eventual winner against a stubborn Palace side, who sat deep into their half and frustrated the Blues for large quarters of the game.

The Catalan added: “Teams defend deep against (Erling) Haaland. Julian (Alvarez) is so important and we need him. We needed him in the middle and he had a chance. Gundo (Ilkay Gundogan) is an exceptional player and got the penalty and Haaland did the rest.”

With Arsenal on an impressive run that has seen them lead the title race, Guardiola is hopeful that City will kick on from a well-earned victory in their upcoming games, starting with a Champions League Round of 16 return leg against RB Leipzig.

“Of course, Arsenal is on an incredible run – still we are there,” the Manchester City boss said. “Arsenal make 50 points. Here in the typical winter game, a difficult one, we were there all the time and then we won it (against Crystal Palace).

“Now, we have to do absolutely everything and next Tuesday (vs RB Leipzig) and Saturday (FA Cup quarter-final against Burnley) hopefully the Etihad can live one of the best nights we have lived and we can do it again.”

Still competing on three fronts, City are looking for a third straight league title and their fifth under Pep Guardiola, who will also be desperate to finally lead his side all the way in the Champions League this term.