Eagles Stun City With Late Equaliser To Take Point

Absolutely nobody gave Palace a hope up at City with a patched up squad but we have been here before, right? Roy Hodgson saw the players available to him put in a terrific second half performance which won them a much deserved point.

MATCH INFORMATION

• 3pm – 16th December 2023
• Manchester City 2-2 Crystal Palace
• Etihad Stadium, Etihad Campus, Ashton New Road, Manchester M11 3FF

PLAYER RATINGS

UNUSED SUBSTITUTES – 5 James TOMKINS, 23 Malcolm EBIOWEI, 31 Remi MATTHEWS, 45 Tayo ADARAMOLA, 53 Ademola OLA-ADEBOMI

OPPOSITION LINE-UP

UNUSED SUBSTITUTES – 4 Kalvin PHILLIPS, 8 Mateo KOVACIC, 18 Stefan ORTEGA, 21 Sergio GOMEZ, 25 Manuel AKANJI, 27 Matheus NUNES, 52 Oscar BOBB, 76 Mahamadou SUSOHO

TEB VERDICT

After the disappointment at home to Liverpool last weekend and heading to City with more players on the injury list, there was a fear that this fixture was not going to be very comfortable. It was not particularly in the first half, but Palace dug in and put in a very respectable second half showing to get themselves back level and take a much deserved point back to South London.

Following another injury concern, Ozoh got his chance to shine and he did not look out of place and Roy even brought on Ahamada, Eze, and Franca who contributed to the late flurry which saw an equaliser come from the penalty spot. To end the game away at the defending champions with those talented players on the pitch alongside Olise is perhaps surprising but show a little positivity and you could get the reward which was very much the case at the Etihad.

POST GAME QUOTES

ROY HODGSON

“The masterplan was decided by the fact we had to get our best and most senior players on the pitch, because we have so many missing. It meant finding a way of getting both Ward and Clyne on the field. We did that by moving Ward in one and played with five at the back. Then we decided to take the risk on Eze. We wouldn’t have done it at 2-0 and we thought at 2-1 it was worth the risk”

DEAN HENDERSON

“I think it was an unbelievable result. Obviously to get a draw is fantastic. I loved every minute of it being back on the pitch. I think it’s been nearly a year since I last played so I’m delighted. “We’re all pulling in the right direction. There’s a great team spirit here. Obviously we’ve got injuries but people are filling in holes and the young lads are coming off the bench. Every one to a man was unbelievable today.”

PEP GUARDIOLA

“We gave away two points. We had a good performance. We controlled the transitions really well and made a lot of set pieces but Palace’s second goal cannot happen at this level. We took bad decisions in the 18-yard box and we were punished.”

MATCH STATISTICS

POSITION IN THE TABLE (at the final whistle)

UPCOMING FIXTURES

21/12/23 Brighton (h) – Premier League (8pm)

27/12/23 Chelsea (a) – Premier League (7.30pm)

30/12/23 Brentford (h) – Premier League (3pm)