Man City Match Zone

Nightmare Before Christmas As City Offer Up Three Gifts

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Johnny On The Spot: #COMPLACENCY PUNISHED. Pep Guardiola’s “not so wise men” coughed up 3 gifts today to a gobsmacked Crystal Palace who could scarcely believe their good fortune and punished the Blues with aplomb. …Where was this game won and lost? I would suggest that the combination of City full backs Walker and Delph failing repeatedly to get goal side of their man and our creative men Gündogan and Bernardo’s inability to hit the killer channels that are our trademark surrendered a game that opened with the Blues dominating a rigid Palace 5-4-1, albeit without the usual zip. Quintessentially, City beat themselves.

This was surely the most error strewn City performance of the modern age that we have seen. Palace to their credit were combative and hard working in equal measure. That said, they were able to steer City players in possession back into traffic far too easily such was the champions lack of edge.  So comfortable were Palace, although looking spent in the face of City’s late rally, that Roy Hodgson did not utilise all of his substitutes. That’s as damning a statistic as they come at the Etihad Stadium.

So where do we go from here? Well, one could suggest that a collective frequency of fixtures and managing of injuries has finally caught up with City. Some might say that World Cup fatigue has told again with all 4 of City’s England stars in particular on the wane in this contest. But you cannot excuse succumbing to the reigning champions dreaded curse, complacency, nor a failure across the side to stay sharp and focused when and where it matters in an unforgiving league, regardless of the side selected.

City must now regroup on Christmas Day afternoon, go to Leicester that evening with the right attitude restored and get this defeat out of their system rapidly. There is no further margin for error.

– A Merry Christmas to all across Planet Blue from everyone at VMC!

 

Manchester City
2 – 3
Crystal Palace

The Etihad Stadium

FA Premier League

3:00 pm

Referee: Andre Marriner of The West Midlands

Manchester City Crystal Palace
Gündogan (27'), De Bruyne (85') Schlupp (33'), Townsend (35'), Milivojevic (51' pen)
31 Ederson 31 Vincente Guaita
 
2 Kyle Walker 29 Aaron Wan-Bissaka
30 Nicolas Otamendi Agüero 50' 5 James Tomkins
14 Aymeric Laporte 12 Mamadou Sakho
18 Fabian Delph De Bruyne 62' 3 Patrick van Aanholt
 
20 Bernardo Silva 10 Andros Townsend
5 John Stones 18 James McArthur
 
8 Ilkay Gündogan 4 Luka Milivojevic
7 Raheem Sterling Mahrez 69' 15 Jeffrey Schlupp
33 Gabriel Jesus 7 Max Meyer Puncheon 90+5'
19 Leroy Sané 11 Wilfried Zaha
 
J Ayew 88'

Substitutes

3 Danilo 1 Julian Speroni
10 Sergio Agüero 2 Joel Ward
17 Kevin De Bruyne 6 Scott Dann
26 Riyad Mahrez 9 Alexander Sørloth
35 Oleks Zinchenko 14 Jordan Ayew
47 Philip Foden 42 Jason Puncheon
49 Aro Muric 44 Jairo Riedewald

Game Statistics

20 Goal attempts 5
4 On Target 3
13 Corners 0
7 Fouls 6
0 Yellow Cards 4
0 Red Cards 0
78 % 22

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