Phil Foden starred with two assists as Manchester City beat Crystal Palace 3-0 to keep the Premier League title race alive.
Manchester City kept the Premier League title race alive with a comfortable 3-0 victory over Crystal Palace at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday night. Pep Guardiola’s side moved back within two points of leaders Arsenal with two matches remaining after another composed display at home.
City knew anything other than victory would have handed Arsenal the chance to seal the title next week. Despite resting several key players ahead of the FA Cup final against Chelsea, Guardiola’s heavily rotated side still proved too strong for a Palace team whose focus increasingly appears fixed on the Europa Conference League final.
The opening stages were surprisingly flat from the hosts, although Palace briefly threatened early on. Jean-Philippe Mateta thought he had opened the scoring inside two minutes, but the effort was ruled out for offside in the build-up. Tyrick Mitchell also tested Gianluigi Donnarumma shortly afterwards as Palace enjoyed their best spell.
City gradually settled into their rhythm and Phil Foden soon took centre stage. The England midfielder produced a brilliant backheel in the 32nd minute to send Antoine Semenyo through on goal. The Ghana international finished confidently into the bottom corner for his first goal in six matches.
The hosts doubled their lead eight minutes later. Josko Gvardiol’s delivery caused problems inside the Palace area and Foden’s clever touch dropped kindly for Omar Marmoush, who spun sharply before firing past Dean Henderson. Foden registered two first-half assists in a Premier League game for the first time in his career.
Crystal Palace improved slightly after the restart but struggled to create sustained pressure. Ismaila Sarr forced Donnarumma into a routine save after capitalising on a loose pass from Bernardo Silva, while Jorgen Strand Larsen fired wastefully over the crossbar during another promising attack.
City remained largely comfortable throughout the second half. Guardiola introduced Jeremy Doku and Rayan Cherki from the bench as he looked to preserve energy ahead of Saturday’s FA Cup final. Palace also rotated heavily, with Oliver Glasner clearly balancing league duties with preparations for their European final later this month.
The result was finally secured in the 84th minute. Cherki threaded an excellent pass into Savinho, who calmly slotted home from close range to complete another dominant evening for the defending champions.
Manchester City controlled possession for long periods and finished with 72 percent of the ball. Guardiola’s side also recorded 15 shots compared to Palace’s six, while the visitors managed only two efforts on target all night.
City created the better opportunities throughout the match and produced an expected goals tally of 1.66 xG comfortably above Palace’s output of 0.73 xG. Their unbeaten Premier League run now stretches back to January, keeping faint hopes of another league title firmly alive heading into the final weeks.
Foden was undoubtedly the standout performer on the night. The 25-year-old made only his third league start in City’s last 13 matches but delivered one of his best performances of the season. His creativity and movement consistently unsettled Palace’s defence.
Gvardiol also impressed on his first appearance since January after recovering from a broken shinbone. The Croatian nearly marked his return with a goal before Henderson produced an excellent save to deny his powerful header before half-time.
Manchester City now turn their attention to Saturday’s FA Cup final against Chelsea at Wembley before returning to league action away at Bournemouth next week. Crystal Palace will continue preparations for their Europa Conference League final and face Arsenal in their next Premier League fixture.
