- Man City defeat Crystal Palace by three-goal margin
- Some players stood out for obvious reasons
- Others were not afforded the opportunity
Manchester City had a very good night on Wednesday, with a few players delivering really strong performances.
However, there was only so much space in the starting lineup, meaning some stars had to miss out on the 3-0 victory.
Here are the three winners and losers from the fixture which has placed Man City just two points behind Arsenal.
Winners
Antoine Semenyo ended his dry patch
Arguably Man City’s worst performer in recent weeks, Semenyo has had limited touches during matches, clearly struggling to make an impact on the right wing.
Pep Guardiola gave the Ghanaian a more centralised role against Crystal Palace and it worked a treat.
Semenyo landed on the scoresheet after getting into a good position and precisely placing the ball into the net.
In fairness, he actually had just 35 touches across the 90 minutes, but nine of these were in Palace’s penalty area.
Omar Marmoush continued his goalscoring form
Who knows what the future holds for Omar Marmoush! Surely he is not happy with his allocated minutes this season.
But when given the opportunity, Marmoush has done really well. He scored against Brentford at the weekend, and did so again in the midweek fixture.
Marmoush’s moment against Crystal Palace was really good, as he guided the ball away from the defender, before opening fire directly into the bottom left corner.
The 27-year-old has only made 15 starts in all competitions, and he has still managed to score eight goals.
READ MORE: Man City player ratings vs Crystal Palace
Savinho made use of a rare start
As brutal as this is to say, Savinho is fast becoming one of Man City’s most forgettable players, due to his limited appearances.
Well that was the case until last night anyway. Now, he will be expecting a bit more time on the pitch after a fine display.
The Brazilian played with swagger and successfully completed more dribbles [five] than any other player.
Additionally, Savinho made his one shot on target count, finding the net to seal the victory for City after 84 minutes.
Phil Foden was the creative genius
Phil Foden, take a bow son! What a performance from a player who so badly needed it! Foden has endured a tough season, but he was phenomenal against Palace.
Rayan Cherki has been Man City’s creative spark over the past couple of months, but he has a contender now.
Just look at the vision and execution Foden showed to find Semenyo with his backheeled pass. It was superb!
Those two assists will give the England international a world of confidence, and surely Guardiola has to be thinking about what role he could play in the FA Cup final.
Losers
James Trafford might miss out on Saturday
Gianluigi Donnarumma only had to make two saves against the Eagles, preventing 0.29 goals in total.
However, the Italian kept a second successive clean sheet, taking his Premier League total to 15 for the season.
Trafford has played every minute of Man City’s FA Cup campaign so far, but Guardiola may have reservations about starting him ahead of an in-form Donnarumma.
Although Trafford did well in the Carabao Cup final, he has not been given a look-in when it comes to the Premier League.
This shows that Donnarumma is the more highly rated shot-stopper, and this could be what leads Guardiola to his final decision ahead of Saturday’s game.
READ MORE: Five observations from Man City’s 3-0 Premier League victory over Crystal Palace
Nico Gonzalez was left out of Man City’s squad
Another player to have done well in a recent match at Wembley, Nico Gonzalez ensured the Citizens made it to the FA Cup final with a winning goal against Southampton.
Since then, his career has been far from plain sailing. The Spaniard was back on the bench against Burnley, and he failed to take his opportunity when City travelled to Everton.
Nico has been left out of the starting lineup two matches in a row. In fact, he did not even make the squad to take on Crystal Palace.
The 24-year-old will be hoping for an FA Cup final start if Rodri remains unavailable, but his chances are not looking promising based on recent events.
