The Citizens dominated and took a 2-goal lead, but had to pay the price for a few minutes of lack of concentration from the defense.
Man City welcomed Crystal Palace in round 17 of the Premier League. The home team launched a super-controlled squad with all the top-class passers like Rodri, Bernardo Silva or Jack Grealish.
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During the entire first half, Man City almost only played in the opponent’s half. The tremendous pressure they created then materialized into Grealish’s goal in the 24th minute with a one-touch shot in the penalty area after Foden’s pass.
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VAR then checked due to suspicion of offside but in the end the goal was still recognized. After the opening goal, Man City became even easier to play and almost did not give Palace a chance to play.
In the second half, Man City had the ball in the net two more times with a free kick from Alvarez and a close-range finish from Rico Lewis. Both were checked by VAR and only the latter situation was recognized.
In the 76th minute, Palace responded by releasing the ball behind the Man City defenders for Jeffrey Schlupp to cross into the penalty area. The German midfielder then created a perfect assist for Mateta to cushion the ball for the equalizer.
The drama came in the 5th minute of injury time of the second half when Foden made an incomprehensible foul by kicking directly into the Palace player’s shin. The referee immediately blew the penalty and Olise did not miss to equalize 2-2 for Palace.
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The 2-2 draw left Man City standing still in 4th place with 34 points, 3 less than top team Liverpool but playing many matches. Even worse, they are only 1 point ahead of the team behind Tottenham after round 17.