Injuries proved no hindrance to Manuel Pellegrini’s City side as they swept aside Palace 3-0 to further their assault on Chelsea’s title push. Patience and persistence proved decisive in the end, as the Blues scored three second half goals to overcame the Eagles, which now means they are level on points with Chelsea and only a one-goal margin separates the two sides.
The main talking point going into the match was the injury woes inflicted onto several key members of the City attack. The heroic Sergio Aguero, Stevan Jovetic and Edin Dzeko were all absent yet again for this game, as was recent debutant Jose Angel Pozo – meaning Pellegrini had to reshuffle. He made six changes from the side that narrowly overcame Leicester, the big news being that James Milner was elected as the striker, or at least the most advanced player in the side.
is sort of game is one which you see as a potential banana-skin, and much like last season’s fixture, Palace were well-organised and stubborn for large spells. City knocked on the door, creating openings but were thwarted by the resilient Palace whenever they get close enough to Julian Speroni’s goal. Yaya Toure got in some good shooting positions, but both efforts were too high. Palace put Joe Hart under relative pressure in the early stages, but his handling was spot on. Though not heavily involved in today’s action, the decision to give England’s no.1 a new deal is certainly a shrewd one.
Undoubtedly the big break for City arrived just before the interval. Zabaleta made one of his traditional runs into the area, latching on to a cleverly threaded pass from Toure but somehow managing to shovel the ball wide of the mark.
However, he made the same type of dart into the area just minutes into the second half and this one proved dividends. After collecting the ball from Fernandinho, the Argentine found space again, and had the intelligence and composure to pick out Silva who slotted home with the aid of a touch from Palace defender Scott Dann. Palace’s stern defence had been unlocked.
Not long after, the lead was extended. A neat passing move led to Kolarov producing a stunning, inch-perfect cut-back into the path of Silva, who diverted this one home without any sort of deflection. This was the Spaniard’s 200th City appearance, capped off with a brace and a typical sterling Silva display.
James Milner, in an unfamiliar role up top, worked tirelessly as per usual and was central to the third goal City conjured up. The industrious Englishmen fed Toure, who drove into space and rifled one off the post and in the back of the net. Job done.
All in all, a very professional performance and one which City deserve some plaudits for. It was crucial that the Blues applied pressure on Chelsea, who play Stoke on Monday,and even without the lack of a focal point up top, played some fine football and had the finishing touch when it mattered.
8 wins in 8, with four clean sheets in the process – things are looking rather rosy at present.
