CHAOS AT THE PALACE
Ederson repels late penalty to keep City unbeaten, but runaway leaders lose De Bruyne and Jesus
FinALLy a few seconds of calm descended, Selhurst Park took a collective breath and tried to digest the chaos and Pep Guardiola settled into the Crystal Palace dug-out beside Roy Hodgson.
From their perch, the scene must have resembled something akin to a landscape of new year’s revelry.
Bodies were scattered; firstaiders were scrambling, arguments were spiralling out of control and emotions were raging.
Kevin De Bruyne, arguably the Premier League’s best player this season, was sprawled in agony on the turf having been felled by Jason Puncheon. Both would be carried off.
Puncheon had been so desperate to stop De Bruyne breaking forward after Ederson saved a stoppage-time penalty to deny Palace a famous triumph.
City disputed the decision by referee Jon Moss who ruled Wilfried Zaha had been nudged from behind by Raheem Sterling. it was, it must be said, a soft penalty. Zaha smiled and clenched his fists in front of the Holmesdale Stand when it was awarded and the home crowd roared in expectation.
They might have known better, having witnessed the farce which unfolded when they won a penalty in the closing minutes of a 2-2 draw against Bournemouth earlier in December. On that occasion, Christian Benteke demanded the ball from regular penalty-taker Luka Milivojevic and missed.
This time, Benteke stepped aside and Milivojevic put his spot-kick down the centre. Ederson dived to his right and saved with his feet.
City sprang into attack, Puncheon hacked at De Bruyne but it was Martin Kelly who halted the counter-attack with a foul, 30 yards nearer the Palace goal. Moss was brandishing yellow cards and trying to recapture some order as City’s players celebrated what they claimed to be justice.
On the touchline, Guardiola and Hodgson, calm within the storm, struck up a civil conversation.
Both managers are entitled to feel perfectly happy with their status as 2018 begins.
City failed to win in the Premier League for the first time since August and have the collateral damage of injuries to De Bruyne and Gabriel Jesus, who twisted a knee in the first half, to worry about but they remain 14 points clear, are still unbeaten and have won all but two of their 21 games in the Premier League. The record run had to end somewhere and it ends at 18. For this, Palace can take enormous credit to go with another precious point.
They were organised and committed and repelled everything thrown their way by a team who scored 61 goals in their first 20 league games of the season.
Palace became the first to stop City scoring in the Premier League since Manchester United in April. This will provide a warm glow for Hodgson as the 70-year-old prepares for Southampton tomorrow.
But his team did not set out to sit back and defend, although, ultimately, that is what they had to do. Wayne Hennessey, recalled after a month out, made splendid saves, perhaps the best from Leroy Sane, early in the second-half, while James Tomkins and Kelly were pillars of strength in central defence. Kelly came off the bench in the first half to replace captain Scott Dann, who was the first Palace player to be hurt trying to stop De Bruyne by illegal means.
Sergio Aguero, on as a substitute for Jesus, struck a post in the firsthalf, when his shot from distance clipped Jairo Riedewald on the heel and looped over Hennessey.
City were dominating possession but without the creative force of David Silva, still absent for family reasons, lacked inspiration.
The Selhurst crowd delighted in a first-half tiff between Sane and De Bruyne over a misplaced pass. Sane was later booked for kicking the ball away after conceding a free-kick. And Hennessey saved a fierce drive from De Bruyne, but the late chances fell to Palace.
Andros Townsend fired wildly over when Puncheon stepped over Zaha’s cross. Townsend held his head. He was not to know Milivojevic would miss an even better chance to topple the leaders in the breathless final moments. CRYSTAL PALACE (4-3-2-1): Hennessey 7; Fosu-Mensah 7, Tomkins 7, Dann 6 (KELLY 20min, 7.5), Van Aanholt 6.5; Cabaye 6 (Puncheon 75, 6 (Lee 90+6)), Milivojevic 7, Riedewald 6.5; Townsend 6, Zaha 7; Benteke 6. Subs not used: Speroni, Souare, Kaikai, Delaney. Booked: Dann, Van Aanholt, Cabaye, Kelly, Puncheon. Manager: Roy Hodgson 7. MANCHESTER CITY (4-1-4-1): Ederson 7; Walker 6.5, Mangala 6.5, Otamendi 7, Danilo 6.5; Fernandinho 6; B.Silva 6 (Toure 80), De Bruyne 7, Gundogan 6 (Sterling 57, 6), Sane 6; Jesus 6 (Aguero 23, 6). Subs not used: Bravo, Stones, Adarabioyo, Zinchenko. Booked: Sane, Aguero, Toure, Fernandinho. Manager: Pep Guardiola 6. Referee: Jon Moss 6. Attendance: 25,804.