Crystal Palace forces a draw after Man City loses two-goal advantage

With a last-gasp penalty from Michael Olise, Crystal Palace survived a two-goal deficit to salvage a 2-2 draw, dealing another damage to Manchester City’s Premier League title campaign.

Jack Grealish gave Pep Guardiola’s team the lead in the first half, and Rico Lewis doubled it in the second half to put them ahead.

However, at the Etihad Stadium, the champions faltered in the second half as Jean-Philippe Mateta cut the lead in the final minutes and Olise scored his penalty in the fifth minute of stoppage time.

It was the sixth time in six league games that Pep Guardiola’s team had lost; until Sunday’s 2-1 victory at Luton, they had also drawn with Chelsea, Liverpool, and Tottenham and lost to Aston Villa.

The outcome of their final game before leaving for the Club World Cup in Saudi Arabia puts them in fourth place in the standings, three points behind leaders Liverpool, who will play Manchester United on Sunday.

Guardiola will remind his players that after falling eight points behind Arsenal to win the title late in the previous campaign, City is still in the running for an unprecedented fourth consecutive triumph.

Without the injured Erling Haaland, City dominated the first few minutes and Dean Henderson of Palace did a good job of tipping in a header from Julian Alvarez in the fifth minute.

The strike that gave City the lead came in the 24th minute when Grealish was passed by Phil Foden and finished by slotting past Henderson for his third goal in as many league games. The play was upheld after a protracted VAR review for offside.

Henderson’s touch allowed Josko Gvardiol to drill into the sidenetting, while Foden’s attempt went wide.

Seven minutes into the second half, Alvarez’s left-wing free kick found the far post, giving City another chance to score, but the attempt was disallowed for offside against Rodri.

In the 54th minute, Grealish’s pass ricocheted off Rodri and fell to Lewis for a close-range finish, giving the hosts their second goal. A VAR review confirmed the 19-year-old’s first Premier League goal.

City appeared to be coasting, but in the 76th minute, a long ball found Jeffrey Schlupp, who then set up Mateta for a goal that set out alarms in Guardiola’s team.

When Manchester City and Crystal Palace play in the English Premier League at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, north-west England, on December 16, 2023, Manchester City’s Brazilian custodian #31 Ederson (R) watches as French midfielder #07 Michael Olise scores the team’s second goal from the penalty spot. (Image by AFP/Paul ELLIS)

Fears for City fans were realised deep into stoppage time when Foden brought down Mateta in the box, referee Paul Tierney signalled for a penalty, and Olise coolly put the ball past Ederson.

AFP