Crystal Palace 0-0 Man City: Player ratings as wasteful City held at Selhurst Park
From Selhurst Park - A wasteful Manchester City side dropped two points in the Premier League title race as they were held to a goalless draw by Crystal Palace.
The Eagles won the return fixture 2-0 earlier in the season and once again they proved to be Pep Guardiola's kryptonite as he saw his side hit the woodwork twice and miss a host of other great chances. Palace themselves might have even won if they'd been more clinical on the counter-attack.
As expected, City dominated possession in the opening exchanges but the visitors were guilty of several lapses in concentration which allowed the Eagles to burst forward. The best of these chances saw Michael Olise poke an effort just wide of the post.
City sharpened up as the half wore on with the Eagles surviving some close shaves. First, Kevin De Bruyne's long-range shot was spilled by Vicente Guaita but Bernardo Silva somehow failed to finish the rebound.
Soon after, Aymeric Laporte popped up with a horror miss of his own, blazing over unmarked after Joao Cancelo's thunderous effort cannoned off the post.
Palace remained threatening on the rare occasions there were able to break out of their defensive shape or press City from a goal kick, but the teams ultimately went into half time level at 0-0.
The second period continued the pattern of the first with the away side knocking it around at will while Palace attempted to land a sucker-punch. City went close twice in quick succession just before the hour mark with De Bruyne hitting the post before Mahrez saw his rebound kept out by a flying Guaita.
City missed another sitter 20 minutes from time, with Bernardo miraculously prodding Jack Grealish's dangerous cross wide from a little over a yard out.
The title-chasers grew increasingly desperate to score as the game drew to its close and this allowed Palace to slip in behind in the 85th minute, only for Zaha to place his effort far too close to Ederson.
The drama kept on coming right up until the final whistle, with Laporte fluffing a close-range header before an error from John Stones nearly allowed the impressive Conor Gallagher to win his side the game.
Here are your player ratings for both teams...
Crystal Palace player ratings
1. Goalkeeper & defenders
Vicente Guaita (GK) - 8/10 - Looked shaky early on, spilling a fairly routine effort from De Bruyne. Really grew into the game. One save from Mahrez was sublime and he annoyed Pep Guardiola, which is always fun.
Nathaniel Clyne (RB) - 7/10 - Pocketed Grealish and Cancelo for much of the contest, surprisingly. There were one or two scary moments, though.
Marc Guehi (CB) - 8/10 - Wore the armband and was brave in his defending. Finished with an excellent nine clearances.
Joachim Andersen (CB) - 7/10 - Pressed into some less-than-ideal passes by City. On the defensive side, he could not have done much more.
Tyrick Mitchell (LB) - 7/10 - A mature display. Mahrez caused him issues but it's so hard to defend against that first touch.
2. Midfielders
Cheikhou Kouyate (CM) - 7/10 - Had his work cut out but fared pretty well. One piece of close control in the middle drew gasps from the Selhurst crowd.
Jeffrey Schlupp (CM) - 7/10 - Did some important marking and covering to stifle Mahrez's influence. Much improved from his midfield display against fellow Premier League title hopefuls Liverpool earlier this season.
Conor Gallagher (CM) - 8/10 - Such a special talent. Full of energy, but was never headless and forced City into some mistakes. Needs to start for England later this month.
3. Forwards
Michael Olise (RW) - 6/10 - Looked to make something happen on the very rare occasions he got on the ball. Subbed in the second half after completing five passes.
Jean-Philippe Mateta (ST) - 6/10 - Broke the Guinness World record for most step overs in the first half before crashing an effort into his marker. Did not give the City defence a moment's rest.
Wilfried Zaha (LW) - 7/10 - Electrified the crowd with a few scintillating runs on the counter. Held up the ball pretty well in the second half to relieve some pressure.
4. Substitutes
Odsonne Edouard (LW) - 6/10 - Stayed disciplined and even troubled City's defence on one occasion.
Jordan Ayew (RW) - 6/10 - Great energy.
Man City player ratings ratings
5. Goalkeeper & defenders
Ederson (GK) - 6/10 - A pretty quiet evening for the Brazilian. He must be used to that by now.
Kyle Walker (RB) - 6/10 - Sometimes sloppy on the ball. Defended confidently on his return to the fray.
John Stones (CB) - 6/10 - Had a great battle with Mateta and largely came away without being caused too many issues. Nearly cost City the game at the death with a grotesque, headed back pass.
Aymeric Laporte (CB) - 5/10 - Missed an open goal in the first half, though scoring isn't really his job. Also should have converted a header late on. On the positive side, he read Palace's direct passes expertly. You're still thinking about the bad news, aren't ya?
Joao Cancelo (LB) - 6/10 - Struck the post with a thunderous strike before the break. Doubled up nicely with Grealish at times.
6. Midfielders
Rodri (CM) - 6/10 - Fairly neat in possession but not always, with Palace pressuring him well.
Kevin De Bruyne (CM) - 6/10 - Pulled the strings early on but was clearly frustrated as things wore on and his team failed to score.
Bernardo Silva (CM) - 3/10 - Strangely lacked the composure to tuck away an easy chance in the first half. Missed an even easier one in the second. Not good.
7. Forwards
Riyad Mahrez (RW) - 6/10 - His ability to bring down 50-yard crossfield balls without breaking stride is genuinely bonkers. Created a decent amount of openings early on but influence waned.
Phil Foden (ST) - 5/10 - Some neat touches and flicks. Did he influence things enough, though? Probably not.
Jack Grealish (LW) - 6/10 - Should have ended the game with an assist but was let down by Bernardo's finishing. Booked for a pointless foul on Gallagher in the second half.
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