Manchester City persevered in the title race and Kevin De Bruyne achieved a milestone of 100 club goals with a 4-2 triumph over Crystal Palace in the Premier League. The fixture at Selhurst Park began with an uncertainty over whether De Bruyne or Erling Haaland would make the opening roster. Three minutes into the game, Jean-Philippe Mateta put the hosting team ahead.
Soon after, De Bruyne balanced the score, and within two minutes from the second half, City was leading with Rico Lewis’s second league goal. Following up, De Bruyne assisted Haaland for the third goal and then accomplished his century of goals for city with a remarkable solo effort in the 70th minute.
Towards the end, Crystal Palace’s reserves made an attempt at recovery with Odsonne Edouard reducing the difference. Despite the efforts from City to increase the scoring stats potentially decisive for year-end, a fifth goal in 7 minutes of added time in the second half remained elusive.
With a likely confirmed position, Crystal Palace’s possible impact on the title competition is intriguing. Arsenal and City will monitor the team travelling next weekend to compete against Liverpool. The opening goal by Mateta with Adam Wharton’s assist pleased the home crowd, as well as Arsenal and Liverpool fans.
However, despite attempts by Wharton to assist Eberechi Eze and being tested by City’s Julian Alvarez and Rodri, Palace could not hold the lead. De Bruyne’s impressive equaliser in the 13th minute was unstoppable. Despite the close competition within City’s last third, the visitors eventually took command and intensified their attack.
In the course of the game, Haaland and Alvarez had opportunities for goals, with the former forcing a save from Henderson and the latter missing the mark. Jordan Ayew, however, had the nearest shot to change the score before the interval, striking the crossbar after having snapped up possession from Rodri.
As the first half was drawing to a close, the home team believed they were due a penalty after a challenge on Eze by Josko Gvardiol, though the referee dismissed their appeals. Nevertheless, the crowd found numerous reasons to applaud their team’s performance in the initial half.
Shortly after the second half started, Lewis dashed the home team’s hopes by intercepting Jack Grealish’s cross and scoring a goal. His shot slightly grazed off Jefferson Lerma before finding the net.
Matches for the City team followed, with Alvarez, Grealish, and De Bruyne making attempts. Not long after, De Bruyne and Haaland teamed up to score the third goal for the visiting side. De Bruyne managed to add a second to his tally after just four minutes, making a powerful strike past Henderson to increase City’s lead in the 70th minute.
After this, Oliver Glasner, the Palace manager, brought on several substitutes including Michael Olise, who had been absent from play since a heavy defeat against Brighton on February 3. He subsequently provided an assist to Edouard, another substitute, for a golden opportunity and despite fluffing his lines to begin with, he managed to redeem himself by squeezing a goal past Ortega in the 86th minute.
Despite a late opportunity in injury time of the second half, Grealish fired his shot high, desiring to add to the scoreline.