Manchester City throw away two-goal lead at home to Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace were visiting the Etihad Stadium having picked up two wins, two losses, and a draw in their last five visits, and the Eagles got off to a positive start, managing to contain the Manchester City forward line which was missing talisman Erling Haaland.
Pep Guardiola’s City soon began to stamp their authority on their home ground - where they are unbeaten all season (W8, D2) - as Dean Henderson was called into action to palm Julián Álvarez’s header around the post.
It didn’t take long for the home side to make the breakthrough via Jack Grealish’s clinical first-time finish into the bottom corner after being picked out by fellow England teammate Phil Foden - a goal that would have pleased Gareth Southgate as he watched on from the stands.
After taking the lead, City began to up the ante as Joško Gvardiol found himself through on goal after being picked out by a sublime Rúben Dias pass but the Croat was denied by the Palace shot-stopper.
Roy Hodgson’s side offered very little going forward until just before HT when Jean-Philippe Mateta broke through the City backline but was brought down by Ederson, who was shown a yellow card for the offence.
City continued their domination after the break and they had the ball in the back of the net within 10 minutes after Álvarez’s free-kick evaded everyone in the box and nestled in the goal, however, it was ruled out after Rodri was adjudged to have interfered whilst in an offside position.
Their disappointment didn’t last for long though as the home side netted again minutes later when Rico Lewis capitalised on a loose ball in the box to power home, marking his first goal in the PL.
With a two-goal lead, Pep’s City side continued to dominate for the remainder of the match and almost added a third but Bernardo Silva’s curling effort was pushed behind by Henderson, who was keeping the scoreline respectable.
Having looked comfortable, City were brought back to reality as a long Palace ball over the back line released Jeffrey Schlupp, who fired a ball across the box for Mateta to tap into an empty net.
It looked like the Eagles were going to fall short of producing a comeback until deep into stoppage time when Foden fouled Mateta in the box, allowing Michael Olise to step up to bury the resulting spot-kick and secure a famous point for Palace.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Jean-Philippe Mateta (Crystal Palace)
