Crystal Palace 0-2 Manchester City: 5 players who impressed for the Blues | Premier League 2019-20
Manchester City travelled to Selhurst Park on Saturday to face Crystal Palace, knowing very well that only a win would suffice. The reigning champions were already trailing Premier League leaders Liverpool by eight points and were looking to cut that gap to five points. With Liverpool due to play Manchester United on Sunday, Pep Guardiola had a chance to pile the pressure on Jurgen Klopp but was aware that it wouldn't be an easy task.
Crystal Palace had already defeated Manchester United this season and was sixth in the table ahead of the game. To make matters worse, Pep Guardiola's defensive crisis had taken a turn for the worse. Nicolas Otamendi had returned late from international duty, while John Stones was not fit enough to start. Kyle Walker was out with illness, which meant that Guardiola was out of options at the back while trying to pick his first eleven. Last season, Guardiola had Vincent Kompany, Stones, Otamendi and Aymeric Laporte fighting for the two centre-back spots. Ahead of the Palace game, the Spaniard had none of those players available and he had to make a few crucial improvisations to his first eleven.
Manchester City Starting XI: Ederson; Joao Cancelo, Rodrigo, Fernandinho, Benjamin Mendy; Kevin de Bruyne, Ilkay Gundogan, David Silva; Raheem Sterling, Gabriel Jesus, Bernardo Silva.
Manchester City was in control of the game right from the start but struggled to make a breakthrough in the early stages. Gabriel Jesus eventually gave them the lead in the 39th minute, before David Silva doubled the lead two minutes later. Guardiola's team was 2-0 up at the halfway mark and even though both teams came close to scoring in the second half, the visitors eventually won the game 2-0. Here are five men who were head and shoulders above others for Manchester City on the night.
#5 Ederson
With two defensive midfielders playing as makeshift centre-backs, the Brazilan custodian had to be on his toes throughout the match. However, Ederson was up to the task and had a fairly impressive game. He passed the ball well and his distribution was also good.
He made two fantastic saves to ensure that the clean sheet remained intact. The Brazilian's save from Christian Benteke's header was the pick of the day and Ederson ensured that the hosts never got back into the game after City took the lead.
Also check out: EPL live scores EPL table EPL fixtures