There’s a unique sort of agony in walking away from a performance where you genuinely went toe-to-toe with Manchester City, only to be undone by a masterclass from one player. Pierre Sage’s Eagles played their part in a pulsating, crackling night under the Selhurst Park lights, but Rayan Cherki’s second-half wizardry ultimately tipped a breathless contest decisively in the visitors’ favour.
Sage rang the changes following last weekend’s frustrating afternoon at Everton, handing full competitive debuts to Anan Khalaili and Takehiro Tomiyasu while welcoming World Cup winner Yéremy Pino back into the fold. Donning the resplendent Eagle Sash kit, Palace looked like a side possessed right from the first whistle.
With barely three minutes on the clock, Adam Wharton slipped a sublime ball through to Eddie Nketiah, whose sharp spin and shot forced Gianluigi Donnarumma into an early save. Daichi Kamada was next to test the City rearguard, seeing a deflected effort loop over the bar as the four corners of SE25 roared their team on.
Trading blows before the break
City, naturally, carried their own menace. Dean Henderson had to be sharp to deny Elliot Anderson, but Palace continued to find joy exploiting space down the flanks through Pino and a lively Khalaili on his home debut.
Yet, the champions punished a momentary lapse in the 17th minute. Erling Haaland did what Haaland does, ghosting away to steer home a header. Phil Foden ought to have doubled it shortly after, blazing over from close range, but Palace refused to buckle.
As the half wore on, the Eagles began to carve out openings of their own. Strand Larsen headed a Pino cross wide, Tyrick Mitchell repeated the trick a minute later from a dream Wharton delivery, and Chris Richards failed to cleanly connect with a golden headed chance. Palace were probing, brave, and thoroughly in the game, even if they went into the break a goal down.
Almost immediately, Foden drove forward and fed Cherki, who danced through a maze of challenges before poking an impudent finish into the far corner. Selhurst could have dropped its head, but this Palace side had too much fight. Straight from the restart, Pino stood over a 25-yard free-kick and bent a majestic strike off the bar, off Donnarumma’s back, and into the net. The ground was bouncing.
Enter Cherki, once more. The Frenchman found a pocket of space just moments later, letting fly with a shot that took a wicked deflection off a red-and-blue shirt, leaving Henderson completely stranded to restore City’s two-goal cushion.
Sage threw his dice from the bench—introducing Zavier Gozo for his debut, handing Dwight McNeil a home bow alongside Evann Guessand, and later giving late minutes to Axel Disasi and Óscar Mingueza (who endured an agonizing wait on the touchline just to get on). Former Eagle Marc Guéhi marshaled the City backline well as the clock wound down, before Haaland slammed home from a tight angle to put the seal on the points.
Wharton rues lack of clinical edge
Adam Wharton admitted his disappointment with Crystal Palace’s defeat against Manchester City despite positive spells in the game.
Wharton told Sky Sports: “I think [the game got away] 15 or 20 minutes into the second-half, after their third goal. We were just too open on their transitions.
“Two of their goals were from transitions and us being open, and Phil [Foden] and Cherki being able to drive at us, with that much space, they’re going to cause danger to us and they took their chances.
“I’m disappointed. I thought we had a few good moments, and got in some good positions. We didn’t test the keeper as much as we probably should have.
“I think that’s probably the difference in the game today. They took their chances and we had a few half-decent ones, but also we probably got into the positions and didn’t make the chances we should have.
“We knew the gameplan, how we wanted to get into those positions. I thought, especially in the first-half, we did that really well. But then it’s just that last detail and at this level, that makes a big difference.”
Wharton added he and his teammates would do everything they could to add that sharpness and get their first Premier League point of the season on board.
He noted: “We’re just trying to work every day, implement the gaffer’s new way of playing and how he wants us to play in and out of possession.
“I think we improved from last week [at Everton]. We were in the game for longer. Last week we probably had a good 45 minutes at the start and then we dropped off. Tonight it was a bit longer than that into the second-half, but we just need to keep at it, and I’m sure next week [against Fulham] we’ll be better.
“That’s our aim: to step up and get the win next week.”
It’s a tough one to take when you’ve given a powerhouse a genuine scare, but there are shoots of real encouragement in the way this side attacked the night. The lads dust themselves down now for a short trip across the Thames to face Fulham at Craven Cottage next week, before a Carabao Cup date with Middlesbrough. We go again.
