Manchester City maintained their pursuit of Premier League leaders Arsenal with a 3-0 victory over Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Sunday. Erling Haaland scored twice, including a late penalty, while Phil Foden added a stunning strike to secure City’s fourth consecutive league win.
The result keeps Pep Guardiola's side in second place on 34 points, just two adrift of the Gunners, while Oliver Glasner’s Palace remain fifth despite a moving performance that saw them hit the woodwork twice.
Crystal Palace created the better openings in the first half but were punished for their profligacy. Adam Wharton’s delicate pass sent Yeremy Pino through on goal, but the forward’s effort skimmed the crossbar with only Gianluigi Donnarumma to beat.
City, who had been largely quiet, broke the deadlock against the run of play in the 41st minute. Matheus Nunes delivered an inviting cross which Haaland met with an unstoppable header, silencing the home crowd who had taunted him about City's FA Cup final loss to Palace in May.
The hosts threatened an equalizer immediately after the break, with Wharton’s low drive thudding off the post, but City’s individual quality eventually widened the gap. In the 69th minute, Foden collected the ball on the edge of the box and fired a low finish past Dean Henderson.
It was the England international's sixth goal in his last five games, a timely reminder of his form with national team manager Thomas Tuchel watching from the stands.
Despite the goal, Guardiola was critical of Foden's overall display. "Phil today... was not good. He didn't play at his best, so he lost a lot of balls," the City manager told BBC Match of the Day. "He was rushing with every action, he needs to play more calm... But in terms of work defensively, how he pressed and how he came back, he was unbelievable." Haaland then wrapped up the scoring in the 89th minute, converting a penalty after Henderson brought down substitute Savinho.
For Crystal Palace, the defeat was compounded by an injury to Daichi Kamada, who limped off with a hamstring issue. Manager Oliver Glasner lamented the "small margins" that decided the contest. "It feels a little bit wrong but we have to accept it... The performance today was better than the FA Cup final but we had the efficiency then and City missed it," Glasner said.
