Manchester City dropped points in the race for the Premier League title, as they were held to a goalless draw by Crystal Palace on Monday night.
City created by far the most chances in the game, but some excellent defensive performances from the opposition, and some disappointing finishing meant it was a great night for Liverpool in the title battle.
It was a first half in which City started somewhat sluggishly, with Palace looking the more dangerous in the opening 20 minutes. Wilfried Zaha and Michael Olise went close with strikes early on, while Jean-Philippe Mateta also had two efforts on the break in that first quarter of the game.
But from there, City began to assert their dominance as Kevin De Bruyne started to see more of the ball. The Belgian nearly opened the scoring when his strike forced Vicente Guaita into an awkward save, while Bernardo Silva’s follow-up touch was too heavy and ran out of play.
Riyad Mahrez also looked dangerous and had four first-half shots, while John Stones’s strike from distance went just wide.
It was another defender who went closest for the visors in the opening 45. Of the 14 efforts they had in that period, Joao Cancelo’s shot from around 25 yards was their best strike, and it smashing off the post.
After the break, City were still the better side but it was a different sort of pressure, with Pep Guardiola’s men keeping Palace hemmed in without created a plethora of chances.
The Sky Blues hit the post on 57 minutes through De Bruyne, but he was subsequently ruled offside. Yet the best chance of the game came soon after, as Jack Grealish passed the ball across the six-yard box, but Silva failed to get a significant touch on the ball and it rolled out for a Palace goal-kick.
In injury-time, Aymeric Laporte’s header deflected off Marc Guehi and landed perfectly for Guaita to collect, which meant Palace held on for a point.
Here’s how we rated the players...
1. Ederson- 6
Palace produced just one shot on target, which Ederson saved well from Zaha. The City goalkeeper also looked confident with the ball at his feet.
2. Kyle Walker-6
Didn’t offer as much offensively as City fans often see, but the England international was defensively assured, in the main.
3. John Stones- 7
Didn’t have much defending to deal with and was comfortable in possession. Stones had a good shot from distance in the first half.
4. Aymeric Laporte- 5
Had a few awkward touches at the back, one which allowed Palace in to attack and resulted in a goal-bound strike.