I think it is fair to say that the game at the Etihad against Crystal Palace did not go exactly to plan. Our first league defeat at our home ground since the United game last season came less than 24 hours after Liverpool had extended their lead over us at the top of the table.
Pundits and commentators alike believe Christmas has come early with the trifector of incidents. Our surprise loss, hot on the heels of a Liverpool victory, conspired to make it a weekend of delight for those who see City as an annoyance. Add to that a resurgent Manchester United rolling over a Cardiff City side and you might be forgiven in thinking you’d been transported back to the 1990’s.
Of course, as a City fan myself, I cannot say I wasn't disappointed with our result. Certainly it was a game I expected us to win and that confidence increased with a superbly worked opening goal, finished off by Ilkay Gundogan.
In the space of two minutes though our winning position became one of having to chase a game to get a result. Unfamiliar territory it may be but not totally alien to us as fans. Yes it was down to some good work from the Palace boys, but mostly it was down to our own mistakes.
For the first Palace goal you have Laporte wide on the left not being able to close down a determined Wilf Zaha. Instead of showing him down the wing and forced to cross, he is allowed to come inside. From there it is a failure to deal with a situation which results in Kyle Walker hanging out a leg rather than pressuring the Palace attacker. Credit to Schlupp though, who finishes well.
The second goal, which followed shortly after, was something you cannot defend against after Townsend gets the ball. The technique and pace on the ball beats Ederson, who has failed to keep a clean sheet for quite a number of games now. Prior to the former England international getting the ball though, there are a number of mistakes.
Gundogan allowing the ball to bounce puts pressure on Bernardo Silva to clear quickly, and with his head. Instead on wide or forward, he heads the ball centrally, straight to Andros Townsend, who scores a goal of the season contender. Those two goals, and the nature of our disorganization at the back for both was a sucker punch for us.
Despite having a few attempts afterward, primarily it was important to just get into halftime, and regroup. Which is what we did, or I thought we did. The second half started with Palace on the front foot with a header beating Ederson and onto the post before Walker upends Max Meyer to give the visitors a penalty.
Giving Palace the chance to go 3-1 up was an early Christmas present and one which Milivojevic willingly dispatched. Bad news was that City were 3-1 down but positive news was that we still had almost half an hour to rectify the situation.
Defenders were substituted for attacking players as Pep Guardiola threw everything at a side now camped in their own half. In a sick, possibly even perverse way, I enjoyed the drama of having us try to come from behind. Attack after attack repelled before KDB pulled one back through a cross which floated into the net.
Time not on our side, although several chances were still created. In the end it was a good, and deserved, three points to Palace and questions for Pep Guardiola. The game showed clearly that we do need another striker, one who is able to step in for Aguero. Yes Jesus is young, but too many times he made the wrong choice in the final third.
Kyle Walker has now had a couple of disappointing games in a City shirt while John Stones looked confused about his new role replacing Fernandinho. There will be negatives for sure and, if you would listen to many pundits, we’ve thrown the title away.
However, there are still twenty games to play in the League, with Liverpool having to come to our place in the New Year. This League is too good for any team not to have a slip, or go undefeated throughout the season. Liverpool will have a blip it is just a matter of when, and how long it lasts.
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