The reigning Premier League champions Manchester City dropped even more points on their trail of runaway league leaders Liverpool after they had to settle for a 2-2 draw against Crystal Palace at the Etihad Stadium. Roy Hodgson’s men took the lead through Everton loanee Cenk Tosun’s goal in the first half, before being pegged back by two quickfire Sergio Aguero strikes after the half-time break. Some excellent work from Wilfried Zaha resulted in a Fernandinho own goal late on, as the teams ended up sharing the points on the afternoon.
Here Are The Manchester City Player Ratings:
Ederson – 5
The shot-stopper’s knack for timing his dashes forward seems to be a thing of the past as he almost gave the Eagles a second goal in the first half. Made a couple decent stops though.
Joao Cancelo – 5.5
The former Juventus man showcased his lack of quality in the final third on multiple occasions but did well when tracking back. Didn’t allow Zaha too much space down his flank.
John Stones – 6
The Englishman looked uncharacteristically confident on the ball at times and even spread the play out rather effectively. Could’ve been a stronger presence at the back though.
Fernandinho – 5.5
The stand-in centre-half had a comfortable afternoon by his usual standards but was undone by a moment of misfortune. Was at fault in the build-up to Palace’s first goal and even scored their second.
Benjamin Mendy – 6.5
The full-back did well maintaining his defensive position during some of the more difficult phases of the game. Played in a belter of a cross for Aguero’s goal and worked extremely hard.
Kevin De Bruyne – 6
The Belgian didn’t have his usually explosive impact going forward but did well not to give up and keep the ball moving. His desire to win at City was evident with the passion he showed.
Ilkay Gundogan – 5.5
The German didn’t have his most productive outing against the Eagles but played a couple of neat passes from the middle of the park. Couldn’t impact the match in the final third though.
David Silva – 5
The veteran midfielder was at the heart of a lot of the City attacks in the afternoon but wasn’t able to have a direct attacking impact. Picked up some good positions but didn’t create anything.
Bernardo Silva – 5
The Portuguese had a tough outing coping with the physicality of the opposition. Struggled to create too much attacking-wise, and shot straight at Guaita from inches out.
Sergio Aguero – 9
Just as he’s done so many times in the past, when Manchester City needed someone to step up and do a job, it was once again the little Argentine. Scored two beauties to turn the contest around completely.
Raheem Sterling – 4.5
The speedster was mostly ineffective against the Eagles and didn’t make any attacking contributions other than a rather tame shot. Doesn’t deserve to start ahead of Riyad Mahrez.
Substitutes
Gabriel Jesus – 6.5
The Brazilian did well to set up one of Aguero’s goals and worked hard to try and find spaces in and around the Crystal Palace defence-line as well.
Riyad Mahrez – 6
Had opportunities to make a difference but always chose to shoot and didn’t have the desired impact.
Rodri – NA
Didn’t have time to make an impact.
