Manchester City were 2-0 down early on and struggling but Pep Guardiola’s side roared back to win 5-2 at home against Crystal Palace on Saturday, as their UEFA Champions League qualification hopes remain alive.
WATCH — Full match replay
Eberechi Eze and Chris Richards had Palace ahead early and Ismaila Sarr could have made it 3-0, but Kevin de Bruyne inspired City’s comeback as he curled home a classy free kick, then Omar Marmoush made it 2-2 before half time.
In the second half Mateo Kovacic, James McAtee and Nico O’Reilly all scored to turn the game on its head as Palace had no answer to City cranking up the pressure.
MORE — Pep Guardiola, Kevin de Bruyne reaction
With the win City move on to 55 points and momentarily move into fourth place in the table with six games to go. Palace suffered their first away defeat in the Premier League in almost six months and remain on 43 points.
De Bruyne leads the chaos as City embrace the situation
Since Rodri went down injured and with other key defenders missing throughout most of the season, City have struggled to defend as they’ve conceded more goals than any other team in the top six. They embraced the chaos against Palace and should do that more often between now and the end of the season. They gave up an xG of over 2 goals but had an xG of almost 4 in this crazy win and we are going to see plenty more games like this involving City between now and the end of the season. If there is one City player who enjoys an open, end-to-end game it is Kevin de Bruyne. He had space to dictate City’s tempo and orchestrate the comeback as he drifted around in a more advanced role. City weren’t stable defensively but going forward they could have scored seven or eight against a usually solid Palace. If City are going to qualify for the Champions League they need to let KDB cook in the final few games he has at the club. Letting him do that means the defensive balance will be off but even without Erling Haaland and Phil Foden on Saturday they showed how creative and clinical they can be. Pep Guardiola has to keep the handbrake off.
Manchester City vs Crystal Palace player ratings (via FotMob.com)
What’s next?
City head to Everton next Saturday, April 19. Palace head to Newcastle on Wednesday, April 16 before hosting Bournemouth next Saturday.
Manchester City vs Crystal Palace score: 5-2
De Bruyne 33', Marmoush 36', Kovacic 47’, McAtee 56’, O’Reilly 80'; Eze 8’, Richards 21’
Manchester City vs Crystal Palace live updates! — By Joe Prince-Wright
O’Reilly’s deflected shot goes in — Manchester City 5-2 Crystal Palace
A cross is clipped in and youngster O’Reilly is there to cushion a shot on goal which takes a slight deflection and flies in. That should be it.
Ederson is down with an injury
Ederson is done for this game. He is down with an ankle issue and Stefan Ortega has come on in his place.
McAtee extends City’s lead — Manchester City 4-2 Crystal Palace
Ederson launches it forward and McAtee skips past Henderson and finishes well. City continue to roar back! 4-2 to the hosts!
Kovacic puts City ahead! — Manchester City 3-2 Crystal Palace
Lovely play down the left and Kovacic puts City ahead. Quick VAR check for offside but City lead. Guardiola is loving it. The home fans have gone bonkers.
De Bruyne should put City ahead
Lovely play from City and KDB is in… but he slams over. He knows he should score. He can’t believe it. It’s half time and what a brilliant first half that was.
Marmoush slams home! — Manchester City 2-2 Crystal Palace
What a game! McAtee’s cross is nodded down and Marmoush smashes home. Just like that it is level!
De Bruyne curls home a free kick! Game on! — Manchester City 1-2 Crystal Palace
Here we go. De Bruyne curls home a beauty of a low free kick which comes off the post and goes in. 2-1 and City almost make it 2-2 seconds later as McAtee heads wide when he’s unmarked in front of goal. He should score! What a game.
Eze scores... but he’s offside
Eze is played in and he cuts inside and curls home... but the offside flag is up. Eze just strayed offside but that was so easy for Palace again. They thought they were 3-0 up inside the first 30 minutes.
Sarr fires over
Palace are flying forward down their right again and Sarr smashes over when he should hit the target. It could have been 3-0! What is going on?!
De Bruyne hits the post
City have reacted well and De Bruyne curls a beauty towards the far corner but it hits the post and comes back out. Henderson was at full stretch and beaten.
Richards heads home! — Manchester City 0-2 Crystal Palace
Palace have doubled their lead and it’s USMNT defender Chris Richards who heads home. A corner is whipped in and Ederson gets it all wrong as he comes out flapping. Richards beat Dias and Palace are 2-0 up at a stunned City.
THE AMERICAN MAKES HIS MARK. 🇺🇸
— NBC Sports Soccer (@NBCSportsSoccer) April 12, 2025
Chris Richards doubles Crystal Palace's lead at the Etihad!
📺 USA Network | #MCICRY pic.twitter.com/ZGV3ZReAjb
Marmoush should score
City should be level! Marmoush is in but Richards does enough to put him off.
Eze puts Palace ahead on the break! — Manchester City 0-1 Crystal Palace
Palace are ahead and that was so easy. Munoz finds Sarr and he crosses for Eze to finish. City so lackluster at the back.
CRYSTAL PALACE LEAD MAN CITY. A fine move finished off by Eberechi Eze! 🦅
— NBC Sports Soccer (@NBCSportsSoccer) April 12, 2025
📺 USA Network | #MCICRY pic.twitter.com/33Q7nq5R9E
Manchester City lineup
Ederson; Lewis, Dias, Gvardiol, O’Reilly; Gonzalez, Gundogan, Kovacic; De Bruyne, McAtee; Marmoush
Crystal Palace lineup
Henderson; Lerma, Lacroix, Richards; Munoz, Kamada, Wharton, Mitchell; Sarr, Eze; Mateta
Manchester City team news, focus
OUT: Erling Haaland (ankle - MORE) John Stones (thigh), Rodri (torn ACL - MORE), Manuel Akanji (groin), Nathan Ake (ankle)
Crystal Palace team news, focus
OUT: Eddie Nketiah (suspension), Marc Guehi (suspension), Cheick Doucoure (knee), Chadi Riad (knee) | QUESTIONABLE: Matt Turner (illness), Romain Esse (illness)
Manchester City vs Crystal Palace prediction
The odds say this isn’t as close as you might think given Palace’s form, and for all of City’s perceived struggles they are 5-1-1 in their last seven matches across all competitions including two clean sheets. Ederson has been better of late and the center back pairing of Josko Gvardiol and Ruben Dias was quite good against United. Eberechi Eze, however, is having a world-class campaign for Palace and will join Jean-Philippe Mateta in testing the hosts. Man City 2-1 Palace.
Manchester City vs Crystal Palace preview
Sixth-place City have slipped behind Chelsea and Newcastle in the race for UEFA Champions League places, but only have to catch one of them — while holding off a host of teams behind them — as it’s been confirmed that five teams will qualify for the 2025-26 UCL through the league route.
Palace are the top team on the Premier League form table (well, tied with Liverpool) as Oliver Glasner has again led the Eagles on a red-hot late-season run up the table. Last season’s finish left them in 10th, but Palace can climb much higher and could well reach a European place.
Eleventh-place Palace have 43 points, five away from eighth and eight back of seventh. It’s going to be a tough ask — In addition to Man City, the Eagles still meet Newcastle, Arsenal, Forest, and Liverpool amongst their final fixtures.
How to watch Manchester City vs Crystal Palace live, stream link and start time
Kick off time: 7:30am ET Saturday
Venue: Etihad Stadium — Manchester
TV Channel: USA
Streaming: Watch live on NBC.com
