Crystal Palace pulled off a shock result at the Etihad Stadium as they defeated the reigning Premier League champions Manchester City in a hard-fought encounter. The Premier League holders took the lead through Ilkay Gundogan in the 27th minute of the match, but the Eagles made a stunning comeback in the game and scored three goals to decimate their mighty opponents in their own backyard. Kevin De Bruyne restored some hope for the Citizens in the 84th minute with a stunning strike from a long range out, but it was too little too late for his side to rescue any point.
Jeffrey Schlupp, Andros Townsend and Luka Milivojevic made the most of the defensive lapses from Pep Guardiola’s men and won the contest 3-1. This defeat has increased the gap between the league leaders Liverpool and champions Manchester City and has left the Citizens on the second spot in the points table.
Here is how the Manchester City players were rated from their shocking defeat against Crystal Palace.
Ederson: 5
A night to forget for the Brazilian goalkeeper as he conceded three goals.
Kyle Walker: 5
Looked disappointing as he could not create chances for his side. Defensively he was disastrous.
Nicolas Otamendi: 4
Was in a fix throughout the match as he could not get the ball out of the danger area and made numerous defensive errors.
Aymeric Laporte: 6
Tried to defend with a lot of heart but was let down by his defensive partners.
Fabian Delph: 5
Looked completely out of sorts as he let Townsend get a lot of space from the right. The Crystal Palace ace took full advantage and scored with a brilliant volley from outside the box.
John Stones: 5
Was deployed once again in defensive midfield position in the absence of Fernandinho and he flopped once again as he did in the previous match against Leicester City. Was caught out of position on many occasions, leaving the backline vulnerable as the opposition attackers took their shots on goal.
Ilkay Gundogan: 6
Looked in good touch as he opened the scoring for his side. Could not have any further impact on the match though.
Bernardo Silva: 6
Showed excellent skills and created a few openings but lacked accuracy in his passing and shot making.
Raheem Sterling: 6
Tried his best to get his side out of trouble but it was not his night.
Leroy Sane: 6
Made a number of darting runs into the danger area but could not trouble the opposition defenders.
Gabriel Jesus: 5
Was kept under pressure by James Tomkins and Aaron Wan-Bissaka as his shots were blocked and he was fouled on a few occasions.
Substitutes
Sergio Aguero: 6
Looked to get his shots away but it was difficult for him to cope with the extreme physicality of Mamadou Sakho and Tomkins after his return from injury.
Kevin De Bruyne: 8
Looked in absolutely superb touch as he restored some pride and hope for his side with a stunning effort to find the back of the net. Should have been deployed earlier.
Riyad Mahrez: 5
Nothing special from the Algerian international on the night.
