Vicente Guaita starred for Crystal Palace as the Eagles held reigning Premier League champions Manchester City to a goalless draw at Selhurst Park. The dropped points could allow Liverpool to cut the gap to City at the top down to one.
The tone of the game at Selhurst Park on Monday night was set early. Pep Guardiola’s men would hoard the possession, pin Palace inside their half, but a momentary lapse and the Eagles would surge forward to hit the Citizens on the break. That scenario nearly played out inside the first fifteen minutes, when Jean-Philippe Mateta won the ball high up the pitch before playing in Michael Olise, whose improvised, outside-of-the-boot shot narrowly avoided the post.
A minute after Olise’s chance at the other end, Guaita fumbled a Kevin de Bruyne shot into the path of Bernardo Silva and was only saved from humiliation due to the attacker’s touch being a little too heavy. The Spaniard did make amends with a couple of sensational stops later on in the match, including one in the 26th minute, when he reacted superbly to make a split-second save to deny De Bruyne again.
Joao Cancelo hit the post in the 27th minute and Aymeric Laporte, perhaps surprised by the sudden development, put his rebound over the bar from close range, with the goal gaping. The in-form Riyad Mahrez was presented with an opportunity five minutes later at the back post, but his shot was straight at the goalkeeper.
Guaita’s heroics continued after the interval. The Palace goalkeeper made a superb stop within milliseconds of getting back on his feet from Mahrez after De Bruyne had rattled the far post. City’s surge continued; Silva came extremely close to opening the scoring in the 71st minute, but his contact was not heavy enough to divert a Jack Grealish cross into the net.
Palace nearly stole the three points at the death, with Conor Gallagher capitalizing on a John Stones error. However, off-balance and moving away from the goal, Gallagher’s shot sailed over the bar, and those in the away end could breathe regularly again. City, nonetheless, dropped two crucial points – points that could allow Liverpool to cut the gap at the top down to just one.
Remarkably, Palace became the third team the Citizens have failed to beat across two games during the season; Guardiola’s side also dropped points at and against Southampton and Tottenham.
2021/21 Premier League top 5
| # | Team | Matches played | Goal difference | Points |
| 1 | Manchester City | 29 | +50 | 70 |
| 2 | Liverpool | 28 | +53 | 66 |
| 3 | Chelsea | 28 | +38 | 59 |
| 4 | Arsenal | 26 | +14 | 51 |
| 5 | Manchester United | 29 | +8 | 50 |
