The pattern of play was obvious from the first whistle as City dominated possession in the early minutes of the game, but the home side showed their ability on the counter attack when the opportunity arose. A Kevin De Bruyne flick from the near post nearly found its way in with 20 minutes remaining in the half, but crucially a fingertip-save from Vicente Guaita kept the scoreline level. Pep Guardiola’s side continued to knock on Palace’s door, but thanks to some heroic defending the visitors could not find a way to smash it down before the HT whistle came.
De Bruyne came close once again 10 minutes into the second half when he fired a shot at goal from close range after being slipped in behind, but the post rescued Guaita, who was soundly beaten. It began to look like it would be one of those nights for Manchester City as they created a bundle of chances, but were unable to take any. The Palace defenders will be lauded as the heroes of the match as they hung on in the face of waves of pressure from the league leaders, ensuring the home side picked up a hard-fought point.
Four straight games unbeaten will be met with unbridled joy amongst the Palace faithful, and to compound their happiness the ‘Eagles’ now find themselves only one point from breaking into the top half of the Premier League table, despite beginning the season as one of the favorites to be relegated.
