Manchester City 2-2 Crystal Palace: How did City manage to throw away points again?
Manchester City’s recent struggles continued when the Premier League champions blew a two-goal lead at home to Crystal Palace.
Pep Guardiola’s side had been cruising for much of the game, but for the fifth time in the last six Premier League games, failed to win.
The Athletic’s Sam Lee addresses some of the key issues…
How did City throw this away?
There was a feeling that City had banished their recent demons after beating Luton and Red Star Belgrade in the last two games and for three quarters of this game it seemed that the old City were back.
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They had bossed the game completely, all 10 outfield players had created a chance in the first half (a truly mindboggling stat that you won’t see repeated often) and Palace had not had a shot on target. But the visitors pulled one back after just a few moments of the game becoming a bit loose, and then, with the game still in the balance in injury time, won a penalty after Phil Foden first lost the ball very cheaply in midfield and then swung a leg inside the box.
It means that the pattern from games in recent weeks against Tottenham and Liverpool (and to some extent Chelsea) was repeated: play well (indeed, very well) but draw. They really threw this one away.
Do City need a mid-season ‘break’?
The Club World Cup might serve as a nice ‘break’ for City. Of course, it is a legitimate competition and one they want to win, but the change of scenery and some 30-degree weather in Saudi Arabia might provide some kind of stimulus, which appears to be needed given City still seem to have problems getting the result they deserve. They do plan to go to Abu Dhabi for a warm-weather camp in January, but the game against Brentford, which was postponed due to the Club World Cup, might be rescheduled for that week.
The trip to Saudi Arabia could even act as the ideal break: they get the weather but also two games that do mean something but, at the same time, will not be especially high level. The way they celebrated winning the European Super Cup shows what these things mean to City and coming back with a trophy might help reignite them — because, after all, they are not a million miles away from converting these good performances into victories.
Should Ederson’s day have been even worse…?
They will not be complaining so loudly now that they have come away with a point, but Palace were very angry about the decision to only book Ederson for a foul outside the box on Jean-Philippe Mateta in the first half.
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After Josko Gvardiol slipped and allowed Palace to play a dangerous ball in behind, Ederson started to come out, stopped on the edge of his box and then decided he needed to take action after all. He was late, though, and took out Mateta after the ball had been knocked past him. Referee Paul Tierney quickly brought out a yellow card, most likely because Mateta was going (slightly) away from goal and Ruben Dias was covering.
For most of the game, it seemed like nothing more than an idle warning, as City moved into a 2-0 lead and seemed to have things wrapped up, but Mateta got the goal that his hard work deserved and Palace made their resilience count.
What did Pep Guardiola say?
We will bring you this after he has spoken at the post-match press conference.
What next for Manchester City?
Tuesday, December 19: Urawa Red Diamonds, Club World Cup, 6pm GMT, 1pm ET
City now travel to Saudi Arabia to try to add the Club World Cup to their trophy cabinet following last season’s treble. After this semi-final against the Japanese winners of last season’s Asian Champions League, City will play in either the final or the third-place play-off, which are both on Friday, so there is no Premier League fixture next weekend.
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(Top photo: Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)
