Crystal Palace 0-1 City: Premier League Round 27

Thanks to Erling Haaland’s penalty kick, Man City beat Crystal Palace 1-0 in the 27th round of the Premier League to reduce the gap to two points compared to the top team Arsenal.

In the 76th minute, Ilkay Gundogan received the ball from a corner kick on the left flank of Jack Grealish and was fouled by Michael Olise inside the penalty area, earning a penalty kick for Man City. On the 11-meter spot, Haaland shot low to the left corner, while goalkeeper Vicente Guaita dived to the right.

This was the 28th goal of the Norwegian striker in the Premier League this season, with an average scoring rate of one goal per 75 minutes. He has scored more goals than eight clubs, including Southampton, Bournemouth, Everton, West Ham, Wolves, Nottingham Forest, Crystal Palace, and Chelsea.

This result helped Man City reach 61 points, putting pressure on Arsenal – the away team to Fulham on the following day.

The score at Selhurst Park yesterday did not fully reflect the reality, as Man City dominated with a ball possession rate of 68%, 14 shots with four shots on target, while Crystal Palace had only three shots off target. Since the 2003-2004 season, Crystal Palace is the first club without a shot on target in three consecutive Premier League matches, following a 0-1 defeat at Aston Villa and a 0-0 draw at home against Liverpool.

In the third minute, Rodri’s close-range volley was saved by goalkeeper Guaita after a chaotic situation inside the penalty area. The ball bounced out, and Ruben Dias and Rodri took turns to shoot, but the Crystal Palace defense played freely to save the situation.

The home team then had two sharp counterattacks, and chances were given to Wilfried Zaha. But the former Man Utd player missed the opportunity in the 5th minute and was blocked by center-back Manuel Akanji in the 15th minute.

In the remaining part of the match, all significant opportunities belonged to Man City. In the 28th minute, Haaland shot over the crossbar from a cross that was just within reach of Nathan Ake. In the 57th minute, from a free-kick on the edge of the penalty area, Foden shot towards the far corner, but Guaita made a save to prevent the home team from conceding.

Before Haaland’s goal, Man City wasted ten other chances. In the 60th minute, from Bernardo Silva’s pass, World Cup 2022 champion Julian Alvarez turned and eliminated Luka Milivojevic before shooting over the crossbar in a face-to-face situation. In the 83rd minute, Haaland missed a chance to score a double when he headed over the crossbar from Grealish’s cross.

On March 14, Pep Guardiola’s team will host RB Leipzig in the second leg of the Champions League round of 16 before facing Burnley in the FA Cup quarter-finals on March 18, while Crystal Palace will face Brighton in the rescheduled match of the 8th round of the Premier League on March 15.

Crystal Palace vs Man City lineup:

• Crystal Palace: Guaita, Clyne (Ward 71), Guehi, Andersen, Mitchell, Lokonga, Milivojevic (Ahamada 61), Schlupp (Eze 80), Ayew (Edouard 80), Zaha, Olise.
• Man City: Ederson, Stones (Walker 89), Akanji, Dias, Ake, Rodri, Bernardo Silva (De Bruyne 79), Gundogan, Foden (Alvarez 58), Grealish, Haaland.

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