Manchester City did everything in their power to keep within touching distance of Arsenal, as they beat Crystal Palace 3-0 at Etihad Stadium on Wednesday, but the Gunners remain in the driver’s seat for the Premier League title.
MORE — Manchester City vs Crystal Palace full match replay
At long last, the two sides are level on games played (36), now separated by just two points (79 to 77). The math is simple: If Arsenal win their final two games, they will be champions for the first time since 2004. If they draw one, it could come down to goal difference, which City currently lead +43 to +42.
Pep Guardiola’s side had to have three points against the Eagles, and they delivered them in style — a trio of great goals, upstaged only by the assists that set them up. Phil Foden teed up Antoine Semenyo and Omar Marmoush for the first and second in the first half — one a brilliant back-heeled through ball, the other a deft touch of a chest-high ball while turning his body to flick it on. These were only Foden’s second and third goal contributions since mid-December (one assist in his previous 17 PL appearances).
Rayan Cherki set up Savinho for goal no. 3 late on, turning and dribbling his way into acres of space before slotting a perfectly timed pass to the Brazilian.
What’s next?
- Chelsea vs Manchester City — Saturday, 10 am ET (FA Cup semifinal)
- Brentford vs Crystal Palace — Sunday, 10 am ET
- Bournemouth vs Manchester City — Tuesday, 2:30 pm ET (next PL fixture)
Below are live updates from Manchester City vs Crystal Palace, with everything you need.
Manchester City vs Crystal Palace final score: 3-0
Goalscorers: Antoine Semenyo (32'), Omar Marmoush (40'), Savinho (84')
It would appear that Phil Foden is playing for a more regular place in not only Man City’s team going forward, but also England’s squad at this summer’s World Cup. That’s two assists today that only a handful of players in the world could pull off.
Silky City football to open the scoring, as Phil Foden plays a back-heeled through ball that finds Antoine Semenyo in between and behind two Palace defenders.
Henderson - Richards, Lacroix, Canvot - Munoz, Lerma, Hughes, Mitchell - Johnson, Pino, Mateta
Donnarumma - Khusanov, Guehi, Gvardiol, Ait-Nouri - Nunes, Silva, Foden - Semenyo, Savinho, Marmoush
