Guardiola Fumes As Crystal Palace Snatch Late Draw Against Man City

Crystal Palace snatched a late 2-2 draw against Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday evening to dent the hosts’ Premier League hopes.

Pep Guardiola’s men raced to a 2-0 lead thanks to goals from Jack Grealish and Rico Lewis with 14 minutes to go before Crystal Palace turned things around with two goals to share the spoils.

Jean-Philippe Mateta pulled a goal back in the 76th minute before Phil Foden fouled Mateta in the 95th minute for a penalty.

Michael Olise scored from the spot to deny the hosts the maximum points in a frustrating evening for Pep Guardiola.

Manchester City have now won only one out of their last six Premier League games, they have also failed to win three consecutive home games in the competition for the first time since 2016.

Guardiola Reacts To Crystal Palace Draw

Guardiola said: “At the end, be patient and don’t concede transitions and don’t concede like we have done in seven or eight years in these type of games,” he said.

“But of course in the first action they run and score a goal and in the last minute we give them [a penalty]. In the 18-yard box, you have to be careful, and we weren’t. We don’t deserve to win.

He admitted giving away two points.

Guardiola continued: “It’s not bad luck, it’s deserved. We give away two points. When you give away this penalty, you deserve it. You see the chances we created and conceded it’s quite similar to all this season apart from the Chelsea game – but we are not able to close the games. That is the feeling.”

Crystal Palace coach, Roy Hodgson praised his team’s spirit and determination in the encounter.

Hodgson said, “I was really pleased with the team, from the first minute to the last, for the way that the players stuck to a gameplan and tried to make it work, and cause at least Man City a few more problems in terms of creating chances than they are sometimes used to.

“It wasn’t just a question of resilience – it was a question of spirit and determination as well. If we’d have wanted excuses for a defeat today, we had loads and loads of them. When you’ve seven players injured and five of them are regulars in the attacking positions, we’ve got even more reason to say ‘well done today’ boys.”

Manchester City will be back in Premier League action against Everton, while Crystal Palace hosts Brighton on Thursday.