Hodgson hails ‘bonanza’ of City scalp
Roy Hodgson never looked like being the man to bring the league title back to Anfield. Should Liverpool become champions for the first time since 1990, however, they may owe a large debt of gratitude to their least popular manager of modern times.
Liverpool take a fourpoint lead into Christmas after Hodgson’s Crystal Palace served up arguably the most remarkable win of the season to date. A side with a solitary point in their previous six away games ended the only 100 per cent home league record in the country.
Manchester
City were left defeated and seemingly dumbfounded. Palace, who had not scored a league goal at the Etihad Stadium since 2005, mustered three in 18 minutes.
City delivered an unusually ragged performance, and after taking 142 points from a possible 156 against sides outside the dominant cartel of six, they suffered a first league loss to outsiders in 23 months.
Andros Townsend’s thunderbolt was the shot that reshaped the title race, Palace’s victory a reminder that even a side who claimed 100 points last season are not immune to shocks. Certainly City found an unfortunate way of rebutting Jurgen Klopp’s suggestion that they have no weaknesses. A defence that has now been breached in eight games in a row is not looking as watertight as it did, with Kyle Walker enduring a particularly torrid afternoon.
John Stones struggled to deputise for the injured Fernandinho in midfield. In attack, Gabriel Jesus and Raheem Sterling endured off days. Pep Guardiola’s decision to ease Kevin de Bruyne and Sergio Aguero back into top-flight football from the bench backfired.
“When you win I am a genius, when you lose I am not good,” said the Catalan. “I don’t know what would happen if Kevin or Sergio start.”
The Belgian scored as a substitute and provided the kind of drive his team-mates had failed to offer. Perhaps only Leroy Sane, Bernardo Silva and Fabian Delph of the starters should be spared the blame.
If the opening exchanges had a soundtrack of schadenfreude, with the City faithful chorusing: “Bring back Mourinho,” they soon had greater concerns. Not, however, before a sloppy start gave way to a lead courtesy of a high-class goal. Walker switched play with a cross-field pass. Sane teed up stand-in captain Delph, who crossed to find Ilkay Gundogan emerging unchecked to head in his fourth goal of the season.
And yet Palace had already hinted at a counter-attacking menace. “Today is one of those bonanza days where you get your work rate and positional play where it should be and you also get the goals,” said Hodgson.
The first two came in quick succession. If Stones was blameless, he was also luckless, playing a part in each. He slid in to dispossess James McArthur but the ball fell for Jeffrey Schlupp to angle a shot beyond Ederson. Then he met Patrick van Aanholt’s free-kick, Gundogan missed a header and Silva only redirected the ball to Townsend.
A 30-yard volley was proof of the mercurial brilliance of a player who has never scored five league goals in a season but musters a disproportionate number of spectacular strikes. This, however, was in a class of its own. Ederson, beaten by precision a couple of minutes earlier, was defeated by raw power. “It sat up perfectly for me,” Townsend said. “It’s definitely the best goal of my career, against the best side I’ve ever played.”
“His performance was excellent,” said Hodgson. “He almost scored with his head. That would have been the real icing on the cake.” Indeed, Townsend headed Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s cross against a post, Max Meyer latched on to the rebound and Walker chopped him down.
“It wasn’t just down to Kyle what happened; everybody was involved,” said Guardiola. Yet a complaint followed: “We cannot concede the penalty we conceded. We have to try and avoid it.” Luka Milivojevic converted it with customary calm. “Three shots on goal, three goals,” the City manager noted.
His side had 19 attempts, but while Sane struck a post with a free-kick and De Bruyne scored a belated first league goal of an injury-hit campaign, Palace held firm. “I give a lot of credit to Crystal Palace,” Guardiola said. “Defensively they were brilliant. We have to recover mentally and recover our physicality.”