Manchester City were made to work hard for their 4-2 victory over Crystal Palace on Saturday and it was a tale of two halves for Pep Guardiola’s side.
The champions fell behind after just three minutes and despite going into the break level thanks to Kevin De Bruyne’s magical effort, they were far from their swashbuckling best at Selhurst Park.
However, Guardiola’s half-time team talk did the trick as Man City turned on the style after the break, with goals from Rico Lewis, Erling Haaland and that man De Bruyne again securing a relatively routine three points in the end.
The result puts plenty of pressure on Arsenal and Liverpool in the Premier League title race, while Guardiola was also able to give rests to the likes of Phil Foden and Bernardo Silva.
Here are Man City‘s best and worst performers from their victory over the Eagles.
Kevin De Bruyne – 9/10
There are few players who can make complicated things look simple, but De Bruyne is certainly one of them. The Belgian waltzed through the game with little fuss and yet managed to bag himself a brace and set up Haaland’s effort to add to his impressive Man City tally.
De Bruyne’s opener was a thing of pure beauty, striking the ball with ferocity and accuracy into Dean Henderson’s top corner from a difficult angle. It was an important equaliser for the visitors after a tough start, and he ran the show after the break as well.
His smart near-post cross created City’s third and the goal that ultimately killed the game off, while he added a left-footed thunderbolt just minutes later to put the icing on the cake. Another masterful display from the 32-year-old.
Honourable mention
Rico Lewis – 8/10
The teenager got his name on the scoresheet and put Man City in front for the first time at Selhurst Park just after the break, but his influence throughout the game impressive. Playing as part of the midfield unit, Lewis made some fantastic late runs into the final third and was neat in his link-up play on the right-hand side.
The youngster looks so comfortable with the ball at his feet and it shouldn’t be forgotten just how tactically intelligent you must be to perform a hybrid role in a Guardiola side.
Josko Gvardiol – 4/10
Being hooked at half-time normally means you aren’t lighting things up, with Gvardiol the man sacrificed at the break as Guardiola sought more control at Selhurst Park. The Croatian played as the left centre-back in a three and was often tasked with driving the ball forward from deep to create overloads, something he did with little success.
He was also booked for a rash challenge and didn’t shine up against the pace and physicality of Palace forward Jean-Philippe Mateta. Gvardiol’s replacement, Manuel Akanji, impressed during the second period, helping City build play up from the back and advance the ball down the left flank – the area that all three of their second-half goals came from.
Dishonourable mention
John Stones – 5/10
Stones can be forgiven for being a little rusty after his recent injury issues, but he failed to sparkle on his return to the starting lineup. Not only was his positioning poor for Mateta’s opener, with the Palace attacker sprinting beyond him with ease, he was also guilty of some sluggish moments throughout.
It was likely a one-off display from the centre-back who is normally so reliable, but the fact that Palace scored two and had plenty of promising openings will worry Guardiola.
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