City run riot, move into third spot
Everything clicks for Pep Guardiola’s team as they demolish perilously placed Crystal Palace
WALKOVER: Manchester City’s Leroy Sané put in an excellent performance against Crystal Palace at the Etihad Stadium yesterday IF the season had gone according to Pep Guardiola’s masterplan then more days at the Etihad Stadium would have looked like this, an opponent caught out twice in the early stages of either half and soundly beaten 5-0 by a Manchester City team too sharp and too ruthless when it mattered.
David Silva was back in the team and pulling the strings for just over an hour before he left. The midfielder breezed back into the side to show everyone how it was done.
Silva scored the first in the second minute of the game and the victory it established means City climb into third place above Liverpool, who play Southampton today, by virtue of their goal difference.
The news is not so good for Palace, who finished the game six points off the relegation places with two to play against Hull City and then Manchester United on the last day of the season.
Silva, out for a fortnight after suffering a blow to his knee during the FA Cup semifinal defeat by Arsenal, struck inside the first two minutes.
Second-half goals from Vincent Kompany, Kevin De Bruyne, Raheem Sterling and Nicolas Otamendi completed the scoring as City moved four points clear of fifth-placed Manchester United.
Only the top four at the end of the season qualify for the Champions League, European club football’s leading competition, with City now having three Premier League games left to play this term.
City manager Guardiola has spoken repeatedly over the past two months about his side’s failure to make possession and chances count.
He would have been pleased that his side scored from their first attack, but not that they then passed up a series of first-half opportunities.
The goal was well-worked, with Spanish playmaker Silva starting and finishing the move. Silva angled a chip towards Sterling and then, when the cross was half-cleared by Martin Kelly, timed his run well to side-foot a volley into the corner of the net.
For much of the opening half-anhour, it seemed inevitable that more goals would follow, as Palace offered little midfield resistance. But a combination of poor final passes and sound goalkeeping from Palace’s Wayne Hennessey prevented City from increasing their tally.
City might even have lost their lead 10 minutes before half-time, when Palace’s Andros Townsend got down the right to cross, Christian Benteke climbed above stand-in right-back Fernandinho to head down, and Willy Caballero twisted to his left to make a fine one-handed save.
Half-time arrived with City in danger of being drawn into a scrap, with De Bruyne twice kicked by Jeffrey Schlupp, and Silva taking matters into his own hands by retaliating with a wild hack at Wilfried Zaha.
However, Guardiola’s side recovered a degree of composure at halftime, and extended their lead three minutes after the restart.
After De Bruyne’s corner had been cleared, Silva worked the ball back to the Belgian, who rolled a pass inside for compatriot Vincent Kompany to sweep in with a first-time shot. That appeared to settle City down. A third goal City had been threatening arrived shortly before the hour mark when De Bruyne steered a shot under Hennessey and just inside the post after Sterling had held off Schlupp to reach Silva’s header and set up the chance.
By now, City were cruising, and the fourth goal had the feel of a training ground exercise about it. Yaya Toure played a diagonal ball towards substitute Pablo Zabaleta, who guided a header back for Sterling to finish from 20 yards.
Then in stoppage time, Palace switched off at a De Bruyne free-kick, allowing Otamendi to dive and head in to make it 5-0. — ©