Crystal Palace 0-1 Manchester City: Premier League – as it happened

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That’s your lot, then. Barney Ronay was at Selhurst, and here’s his take. Thanks for reading this MBM. Nighty night!

Patrick Vieira talks to Sky Sports. “It’s been too many times that I’ve been in front of you and it’s been heartbreaking … we put our body on the line and defended well, and to concede a goal like that is stupid … there is a lot of frustration … it’s a hard way to lose the game … we worked hard, so to concede a goal on a corner like that, our attitude was really poor … this is something we have to adjust because we let ourselves down … we can’t switch off … the concentration has to be for the 95 minutes … I am disappointed for Michael Olise because when you look at the way he worked, and the way he took the ball forward, but he gave away the penalty, but we could stop that before the situation … it is a learning process for him … he’s a young player … the mistakes are sometimes harsh but he will learn from that … we didn’t even look at the ball when it was a corner … we defended well but that moment of madness stopped us taking something from the game … you need to look at the teams we have faced lately … of course there is a concern about the number of chances we are creating and the shots on goal … but we have quality players to create opportunities and score goals but today it was about defending well, and we did it until that penalty.”

We’ll still hear from Patrick Vieira … but in the meantime, Barney Ronay was at Selhurst Park, and his report is in!

Pep speaks to Sky. “From my experience since I came to the UK, every time we come to Selhurst Park is always really tough … at home we struggle more, but always we come here and I think we play really good, and we play to score more goals but always struggle … they have weapons, some incredible strikers, they have a good relationship, they have incredible threats … so it was a question of patience … push, push, but don’t lose the head … all the people in the middle and up front was brilliant … it’s not easy … last season we played incredible here but didn’t win … we defended really well … Arsenal is on an incredible run … teams drop but we are still there … now we have finals to come on Tuesday [in the Champions League v Leipzig] and Saturday [in the FA Cup v Burnley] we have to do everything … hopefully at the Etihad we can have one of the best nights.”

The matchwinner Erling Haaland, in a very cheerful mood, speaks to Sky. “In the end everything that matters is three points … it’s not easy … you saw Bournemouth today beating Liverpool … every single game is a fight … we win and I’m really happy … it’s my job and I enjoy it … we have to keep going … I was not concerned … I tried to focus on my game … it’s not easy so I’m really proud … we have to win games … we have to focus on myself … we have a lot of games left to play still … nothing is decided yet … this is England, this is what I’ve been watching my whole life, and it’s good to be in the middle of it!”

Some more bad news for Palace. That Eze effort on 85 minutes hasn’t been logged as having been on target. So that’s three consecutive games without their getting a shot on target now. Palace become the first Premier League team to reach that peculiar and unwanted landmark since Opta began counting.

City didn’t play well. This wasn’t a classic. Like they’ll care about any of that. Sometimes you have to win ugly, and that’s what City did tonight, moving to within two points of Arsenal at the top of the table. They’re delighted. Palace remain in 12th, looking over their shoulder at the relegation battle they’re being dragged towards.

90 min +4: Haaland dribbles down the left and is hauled over by Andersen, who goes into the book. A free kick just to the left of the Palace box, though surely they’ll not be putting it into the mixer. Indeed Haaland runs it towards the corner flag.

90 min +3: Grealish is going nowhere out on the left and is forced to play back to Ederson … but with City under pressure, Ahamada pointlessly clips his heel, relieving the pressure and allowing the visitors to run down some of the clock.

90 min +2: The second drags by from a City perspective.

90 min +1: The first of four extra minutes flies by from a Palace perspective.

90 min: Zaha runs at Walker. He makes it all the way into the box before firing an inviting low cross all the way through the danger zone. It somehow flies behind Edouard and Eze and away from danger. How did that ball thread its way through a crowded area without meeting a Palace player?!

88 min: Walker comes on for Stones.

86 min: … so Palace escape the indignity of going three Premier League games in a row without getting a single effort on target. Small acorns, and all that.

85 min: Eze’s careful curler is blocked and deflected wide right, and nothing comes of the corner. But still, that’s something to build on, right?

84 min: Since scoring, Haaland has been sniffing around in the hope of notching a quick second. He nearly gets one here. De Bruyne crosses from the left and the big striker heads harmlessly over from close range.

82 min: Zaha and Stones tussle down the Palace left. Zaha, known to run hot at times, grabs Stones by his extended leg (!) and turfs him to the ground. Stones had been pulling him back, to be fair, and while it threatens to kick off, it calms down quickly enough and the referee stops at a quick telling-off.

81 min: That was Haaland’s 29th Premier League goal this season, incidentally. His 34th in all competitions. Thirty-four goals with the best part of three months of the season still to go!

80 min: Palace respond by replacing Ayew and Schlupp with Edouard and Eze.

79 min: Pep was preparing a substitution before the goal, and he makes it anyway, sending on De Bruyne for Silva.

Haaland rolls calmly into the bottom left, having sent Guaita the wrong way, and City have finally made the breakthrough!

77 min: The usual pre-penalty faff. Haaland will take this.

76 min: Rodri moves up a gear as he blazes down the inside-left channel. He attempts a one-two with Gundogan, who goes over demanding a penalty. He’s not getting one. Just a corner. But from the corner, played short by Grealish to Gundogan, Olise comes clumsily steaming in and clips the latter on the boot. The ref points to the spot!

74 min: Olise drives down the right and the home crowd get excited for the first time in a wee while. But his pass infield for Ayew isn’t particularly accurate and soon City are back in possession. This will have been a frustrating watch for both sides, albeit for slightly different reasons.

72 min: Silva loops a dangerous cross in from the left. Haaland isn’t ready for it. Had he been on the front foot, he’d have surely met it with a header six yards out, and powered it home. But he was a step too far away.

71 min: Clyne makes way for Ward.

70 min: Stones makes good down the right and crosses deep. Haaland, at the far stick, is much too static. The ball flies harmlessly away from danger.

68 min: A City corner from the left. It’s worked back to Alvarez, who has a dig from the edge of the box. Easy for Guaita. The champions are beginning to show a few signs of frustration.

66 min: Ahamada dribbles down the inside-left channel and is clipped by Rodri, just to the left of the D. The referee waves a dubious advantage, and the move eventually breaks down. Palace would much rather have had the free kick.

65 min: Ake is booked for a clip on an in-flight Olise.

64 min: An astonishing statistic flashed up by Sky. Palace haven’t had a shot on target in their previous two games … and they haven’t managed one in this one either. An unwanted triptych o’tedium is very much on the cards. Apparently nobody has gone three matches without an effort on target before, since records began anyway. Can they avoid setting such a depressing record?

63 min: Ahamada attempts to send Ayew into space down the right. A good opportunity if he gets the pass right. But he doesn’t, and Dias glides across to mop up.

61 min: Milivojevic, who was running a very real risk of getting himself sent off, is replaced by Ahamada.

60 min: Grealish passes in from the right. Alvarez takes it and spins into the box, in one smooth movement. What skill! He then looks for the top right and, leaning back, hoicks over the bar. That would have been some goal.

59 min: Rodri strides down the inside-right channel and looks to pass a shot towards the bottom right from distance. It’s blocked and Palace counter. Dias obstructs Zaha on the halfway line and goes into the book. He can’t complain about it, and to his credit, he doesn’t.

58 min: That’s the last thing Foden will do this evening. He makes way for Alvarez.

57 min: Foden curls powerfully towards the bottom left, through a pseudo-wall set up by City. Guaita reads it well, though, and gets across to stick out a strong arm. A fine free kick with a save to match!

56 min: A lot of pre-free-kick faff.

55 min: Grealish is about to dribble into the Palace box down the middle when Milivojevic grabs him from behind. A free kick, inches from a penalty, and he really must be in the last-chance saloon now when it comes to an early bath.

53 min: This half hasn’t quite got going yet.

51 min: Schlupp and Ayew combine well down the left wing. There’s a chance to release Zaha though the middle … but he’s gone too early, and while Schlupp attempts to keep the move alive by holding onto the ball for as long as he can, Zaha can’t get back on and it all peters out. For a second, though, there were possibilities.

50 min: … nowt.

49 min: City are on the front foot, mind you. Palace are struggling to get a sniff. Ping, pass, ping, pass, ping. Then Ake steps it up a bit and strides down the inside-left channel, only to be upended by Clyne. A free kick in a dangerous position, just outside the Palace box. Foden curls it long … and nearly out of play. Akanji rescues the situation by trapping on the byline and pinging it off the nearest defender for a corner. From which …

47 min: A fairly slow start to the second half.

Palace get the second half underway. No changes. “Foden is like a really expensive spice,” begins Gene Salorio. “He can add greatly to the flavour of a dish but will never be the central element of one. Unlike say De Bruyne, who is centre of the plate. Grealish is garnish: gives visual appeal to the presentation but usually doesn’t add substance. And f*** the bosses at BBC.” You’ll have noticed an interesting shift of gear at the end there.

Half-time entertainment. A reminder that there’s some top-drawer rugby currently going on …

… as well as some world-class political bullshit. Solidarity.

The champions have been the better side, but Palace are hanging on in there. A big 45 minutes coming up in the title race.

45 min: Akanji needlessly skittles Zaha out on the left flank. A chance for the hosts to load the City box … which they do, but Olise’s delivery isn’t up to much. City clear their lines.

43 min: Haaland and Guehi clash on the halfway line. The former sticks out a right arm and connects with the latter’s shoulder. The home fans want Haaland to be sent off. The referee limits the punishment to a stern word or two, which to be fair is more appropriate, as there didn’t seem to be too much in it. A lot of noise over nowt.

41 min: Milivojevic nicks Silva to the ground, 35 yards out on the City left. The Palace captain wants to watch himself here, having already been booked. He got away with a lunge on Rodri earlier, too, just after giving the ball away on the half-hour and just before picking up his yellow card. One more daft challenge and he could be walking.

39 min: Foden crosses deep from the right, forcing Andersen to head behind for another City corner, this time on the left. Foden takes. Palace half clear, only for Grealish to play a delicious first-time diagonal ball back to Foden, breaking into the box from the left. One touch and bang … is what should have happened. But he elects to cross into a crowded central zone, and Palace are able to clear.

37 min: Foden, having previously been off it, suddenly ratchets up the quality of his output, slaloming in gracefully from the right, beating three challenges, then winning a corner. Nothing comes of the set piece, but you can’t keep a good man down for too long, huh.