Erling Haaland's brace helps Manchester City beat Crystal Palace: Stats
What's the story
Manchester City thrashed Crystal Palace 3-0 at Selhurst Park, with Erling Haaland scoring a brace and Phil Foden adding another to keep the pressure on Premier League leaders Arsenal. The win in Matchweek 16 for Pep Guardiola's side brought Man City within two points of Arsenal, who had extended their lead after a late win over Wolves on Saturday. City's clinical performance left Palace regretting several missed opportunities in the match. Here's more.
Match highlights
Haaland and Foden's goals seal victory for City
Haaland opened the scoring with a header from Matheus Nunes's cross in the first half. He then doubled Man City's lead with a penalty late in the game after Foden had scored from outside the box. The England international's goal was his seventh in five games, continuing his impressive form. Despite Palace's efforts to equalize, including a shot that hit the woodwork, they couldn't find an answer to City's attacking prowess.
Title race
City's title charge gains momentum
The win over Palace marked City's fourth consecutive Premier League victory, further fueling their title charge. The team's attacking players have been instrumental in this run of form. Foden's goal came after a driving run by Rayan Cherki and caught the eye of England manager Thomas Tuchel, who is considering his options for the No. 10 position ahead of next summer's World Cup.
Near misses
Palace's late attempts to equalize
Palace continued to push for an equalizer, with substitute Eddie Nketiah forcing a save from Gianluigi Donnarumma from a tight angle. However, Haaland made sure of the result when he converted his penalty after substitute Savinho had been fouled by Henderson. The goal came after Palace's goalkeeper had saved Haaland's penalty in the FA Cup final at Wembley and sealed an emphatic win which underlines City's growing title credentials.
Match stats
A look at the match stats
Palace had 38% ball possession compared to Man City's 62%. The Eagles clocked an xG of 2.08 with the visiting side's xG being 1.19. The hosts had 4 shots on target from 16 attempts while Guardiola's side clocked six shots on target from 7 attempts. Palace struck the woodwork twice. Both sides created 1 big chance each. In terms of touches in the opposition box, Palace had 32 with Man City managing just 12.
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What about the points table?
After 16 matches, the Citizens are 2nd with 34 points. They posted their 11th win (D1 L4). Man City have improved their goal difference to +22, two more than leaders Arsenal. With this defeat, Palace remain 5th with 26 points (W7 D5 L4).
Haaland
Haaland races to 102 Premier League goals
Haaland is now involved in 20 Premier League goals this season. He owns 17 goals and three assists from 16 matches. Overall, the star forward has raced to 102 Premier League goals from 113 matches (A19). In all competitions, Haaland has scored 23 goals from 22 games this season. Overall, he has managed 147 goals in 168 matches across all competitions for Guardiola's side.
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Foden gets to 7 Premier League goals this season
Playing his 14th Premier League game this season, Foden now owns 7 goals (A2). Overall, he has scored 68 goals from 206 Premier League matches (A30). In 339 matches for the club, Foden has scored 109 times.
Records
Key records made in the contest
As per Opta, there were 25 passes in the build-up to Haaland's opening goal, the most for a Man City goal in the Premier League since Rodri vs West Ham in May 2024 (31). Foden has now scored in each of his last four Premier League games. The Englishman scored his 12th goal from outside the box for Man City, going level with Carlos Tevez, as per Squawka.