Man City’s Struggles Continue as Palace Hold Champions to 2-2 Draw

Another frustrating evening for Manchester City as they fail to secure a win away from home, extending their winless away streak to six games.

December 7, 2024
6:25 pm

Manchester City was left feeling frustrated again as Crystal Palace held them to a 2-2 draw at Selhurst Park. Pep Guardiola’s squad had to come from behind twice, extending their winless away streak to six matches.

City rolled into Selhurst Park feeling good after their 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest, which ended a seven-game winless run. But their confidence took a hit when Daniel Muñoz scored for Palace just four minutes in, calmly slotting it past Stefan Ortega after a perfect through ball from Will Hughes. That was his second goal in as many games!

City almost equalized right away, but Dean Henderson made a crucial save to deny Erling Haaland from close range. The visitors kept pushing for a breakthrough, with İlkay Gündoğan hitting the post and Savinho just missing the rebound. Palace’s counter-attacks kept City’s defense on their toes, highlighted by Rúben Dias’ fantastic block to stop Jefferson Lerma.

Dias’ heroics paid off when, just moments later, Haaland headed in Matheus Nunes’ cross in the 39th minute to level the score. That was the Norwegian’s 13th league goal of the season, sending City into halftime tied at 1-1.

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Guardiola’s frustrations grew early in the second half as Palace took the lead again. Maxence Lacroix soared above Kyle Walker to nod in Hughes’s corner, marking the midfielder’s second assist of the night. But City didn’t back down; in the 63rd minute, Rico Lewis fired a stunning strike into the top corner after a clever setup by Bernardo Silva.

Unfortunately, Lewis’ night took a turn for the worse when he got a second yellow card in the 84th minute for a reckless challenge on Trevoh Chalobah, leaving City with just 10 men for the final moments. Despite being a man down, the visitors held on for a point, but their title hopes took another hit.

The result leaves Manchester City in fourth place, eight points behind the league leaders, who also have a game in hand. Meanwhile, Crystal Palace is pulling away from the relegation zone, now four points clear of danger.

City needs to find their winning touch fast if they want to stay in the title race, with important matches coming up. For now, though, Guardiola has the challenge of getting his team back on track away from home.