Manchester City 5 Crystal Palace 2: City player ratings as De Bruyne inspires his team to a huge victory. | OneFootball

Manchester City 5 (Kevin De Bruyne 33′, Omar Marmoush 36′, Mateo Kovacic 47′, James McAtee 56′, Nico O’Reilly 79′)

Crystal Palace 2 (Eberechi Eze 8′, Chris Richards 21′)

Here are the City player ratings as Manchester City picked up a vital three points with a 5-2 victory over Crystal Palace. The win sees Pep Guardiola’s side move up to fourth on the Premier League table ahead of this weekend’s fixtures.

Phil Foden missed today’s match due to injury. Eyebrows were raised when the starting lineups were announced but the performance of Pep Guardiola’s side validated the team selection from their manager as they overcame a 2-nil deficit to pick up a crucial victory.

First half

Manchester City began the game well in possession and did look comfortable in the game’s opening stages. But there wasn’t any real threat to their early play, and their best chance fell to James McAtee, who hit a tame shot straight at Dean Henderson in the Palace goal in the 5th minute.

Crystal Palace take the lead through Eberechi Eze.

But despite City’s bright start in possession, it would be Crystal Palace who would take the lead in the 8th minute. Oliver Glasner’s side looked calm in possession and played their way out from the back with aplomb. The move found Ismaila Sarr in acres of space on the right wing, and his pinpoint pass found Eberechi Eze in the box, who was left with the simple task of tapping in at the back post past Ederson. It was a simple goal and Crystal Palace exposed City’s frailties in the move.

Manchester City did respond to the early setback in the 11th minute. Omar Marmoush was played through by Kevin De Bruyne but his tame shot was blocked when the Egyptian international was clean through. Kevin De Bruyne’s follow-up shot was blocked, and it went behind for a corner. There was a shout for a penalty due to a shirt pull on Omar Marmoush by Tyrick Mitchell. But the penalty shout was turned down after a brief VAR check.

Crystal Palace doubles their lead.

The visitors would make it 2-nil through Chris Richards in the 21st minute. A quality corner was delivered by Adam Wharton and Richards headed home from inside the six-yard box. Ederson was blocked by Jean-Phillpe Mateta and was caught in no man’s land. Richards beat Ruben Dias to the ball and it was a simple but effective corner routine that undid the Manchester City defence.

In the 24th minute a, quality Kevin De Bruyne strike from outside the Crystal Palace penalty area smacked the post with Dean Henderson beaten. Ilkay Gundogan got to the rebound, but his cutback couldn’t find any of his teammates and the chance was gone.

Eberechi Eze has a goal ruled out for offside in the 28th minute. It was a quality finish from Eze but that moment proved to be pivotal in the match as Manchester City made their move from that point onwards.

Kevin De Bruyne brings Manchester City back into the game.

Manchester City got themselves back into the game in the 33rd minute. Nico was fouled on the edge of the area which gave Manchester City a free kick in a dangerous position. Kevin De Bruyne fired in the free kick which beat Dean Henderson after hitting the post to make it 2-1 and give City a way back into the game.

Omar Marmoush makes it 2-all and it’s game on.

In the 36th minute, Omar Marmoush would make it 2-all. A quality ball from the left from James McAtee found Kevin De Bruyne at the back post. His header found Ilkay Gundogan, who swung at the air, but Omar Marmoush was on hand to smash a low drive past Dean Henderson to make it 2-all. Manchester City had scored 2 goals in three minutes and were beginning to gain ascendancy in the match.

After Kevin De Bruyne fired a shot over in the 46th minute the game would head into the interval at 2-all. After Crystal Palace had taken a 2-nil lead Manchester City took control of the match. At 2-all they looked to be the better team and were hoping to carry their strong form to close the first half into the second half.

Second half

Manchester City would make it 3-2 in the 47th minute. A sweeping move played in Nico O’Reilly in acres of space down the left wing. His cross found Kevin De Bruyne who teed up Mateo Kovacic on the edge of the area to fire past Dean Henderson to make it 3-2. Pep Guardiola’s side had started the second half where they left off in the first by going straight at Crystal Palace.

James McAtee makes it 4-2 after a superb Ederson assist.

Manchester City would take a 4-2 lead in the 56th minute. A sublime long ball from Ederson played in James McAtee. McAtee rounded Dean Henderson for a simple tap-in to make it 4-2. Ederson’s ball completely took out the Palace defence and McAtee showed his class with a brilliant piece of skill to score.

Dean Henderson made a superb save in the 59th minute to deny Omar Marmoush from point-blank range. Kevin De Bruyne played in a superb cross from the right wing and Omar Marmoush’s effort was well-saved by Henderson. The rebound fell to Ilkay Gundogan but it was blocked before Nico O’Reilly headed the subsequent rebound over the bar.

In the 70th minute, Ederson was replaced by Stefan Ortega after picking up an injury. It was unclear when the Brazilian international sustained the injury. Perhaps it occurred when they played the assist for McAtee.

Nico O’Reilly makes it 5-2 with a beautiful volley.

In the 79th minute, Nico O’Reilly would make it 5-2 for Pep Guardiola’s side. After a period of sustained possession, a James McAtee cross was cleared into O’Reilly’s path. His volley beat Dean Henderson via the aid of a deflection off of Nathaniel Clyne to wrap up all three points for Manchester City.

The rest of the game played out without incident and Manchester City picked up all three points with a quality display after being 2-nil down. Pep Guardiola’s side deserves credit for the manner of their performance and it does set them up well for their remaining six games of the Premier League season.

City player ratings

Ederson-6.5/10: I thought he could’ve been stronger in dealing with the cross for Crystal Palace’s second goal. His assist for McAtee’s goal was utterly superb.

Rico Lewis-7/10: Linked the play well at right-back in a good performance from Lewis.

Ruben Dias-7/10: Dias helped City settle after their poor start.

Josko Gvardiol-7/10: Like Dias he helped his team regain control of the match after a poor start.

Nico O’Reilly-8/10: He scored a goal, and he played well over the course of the full 90 minutes. He is developing into a fine player which he showed again today.

Nico-7.5/10: Helped Manchester City take control of the game in midfield alongside Mateo Kovacic. A good performance from Nico.

Mateo Kovacic-8/10: Scored a goal and played well alongside Nico in a no-nonsense display. One of the better performances from Kovacic this season.

Ilkay Gundogan-7/10: Linked Manchester City’s play well in midfield in a good performance.

James McAtee-7.5/10: Scored one but should have probably scored a hat trick. Put in a lively performance before he was substituted late in the second half.

Kevin De Bruyne-10/10: An inspirational performance from De Bruyne. At 2-nil down, Manchester City needed someone to inspire them and it was De Bruyne. His goal got them back into the match and his efforts helped lift his team.

Omar Marmoush-8/10: His movement and pressing was superb and he was rewarded with a goal. Perhaps he should have had another but he played a key role in City’s win.

Substitutes

Stefan Ortega-6/10: Made one crucial intervention after coming on for Ederson.

Oscar Bobb-N/A: Not on long enough to mark.

Savinho-N/A: Not on long enough to mark.

Jack Grealish- N/A: Not on long enough to mark.

Jeremy Doku-N/A: Not on long enough to mark.