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Manchester City completed a stunning comeback to beat Crystal Palace 4-2 in the Premier League on Saturday, August 27.
City have made a strong start to their campaign, picking up seven points from a possible nine in the initial rounds. They faced a tough test away to Newcastle United last week, having to dig deep to salvage a 3-3 draw. Pep Guardiola made one change to the lineup, bringing in Ruben Dias for the injured Nathan Ake.
Palace, on the other hand, were handed some of the toughest fixtures in the opening weeks of their campaign. They faced Arsenal, Liverpool and Aston Villa prior to their trip to Manchester. Patrick Vieira's men did well to earn four points and were looking to continue their strong run.
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However, they were without Wilfried Zaha, who was excluded from the squad as a precautionary measure with a congested fixture list at hand.
Crystal Palace were the only side to keep two clean sheets against Manchester City last season and they started the game with confidence.
Despite being without the directness Zaha offers, the visitors snatched an early lead. They earned a corner and John Stones was unlucky to score an own goal as the ball ricocheted off him. City were down 1-0 after just four minutes.
Manchester City continued to struggle as Palace were composed in possession and extremely disciplined off it. The visitors also displayed their aerial prowess as they doubled their lead via another corner. This time around, Eze played the ball into the box, which Joachin Andersen headed in with a powerful attempt.
The hosts created several opportunities to arrive in Palace's penalty area. However, the visitors defended as if their lives were on the line and went into the break with a two-goal lead.
Palace started the second half as they ended the first, maintaining defensive organization and solidity. However, they could only keep Manchester City at bay for a while.
Rodri played a lovely lofted pass into Bernardo Silva's path, who controlled the ball with a deft touch. He then dribbled past a couple of defenders before striking the ball goalwards. The shot took a wicked deflection, which was enough to beat Vicente Guaita in goal.
Erling Haaland then took things into his own hands as he scored two goals in eight minutes to complete Manchester City's comeback. He was first played the ball by Phil Foden and scored with a good finish to make it all square. Shortly after, John Stoned miscued a shot which fell kindly to the Norwegian. He duly tapped in to make it 3-2 to City.
Haaland completed his hat-trick in the 81st minute after a well-worked City move to put the result beyond doubt. Manchester City completed yet another impressive turnaround to walk away with all three points.
That said, let's take a look at the five major talking points from the game.
#5. Manchester City have defensive frailties that are being exposed
City conceded two goals in the first half, both from Palace corners. The first one was arguably unlucky, as the ball took multiple touches before finally taking a defining one off John Stones, who knew little about where the ball was. However, they left Joachim Andersen absolutely unmarked for the visitors' second goal.
With Nathan Ake injured and Ruben Dias apparently struggling for form, City seem to be in a bit of a defensive pickle. Additionally, Kyle Walker isn't getting any younger and is being given a torrid time by young wingers week in, week out.
Aymeric Laporte has also been sidelined with injury for a while and it seems as though Pep Guardiola has a major problem to address.
#4. Crystal Palace have a solid plan against the 'big teams'
Palace have already faced Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City within their opening four matches of the season. They were unfortunate to lose against Arsenal as they were outplayed for a 20-minute spell but matched the Gunners toe-to-toe after that.
Palace sat deep and executed their counter-attacking plan to perfection against Liverpool, earning a well-deserved point. They also raced into an unexpected early lead against City by sticking to the basics.
Patrick Vieira seems to know his players inside-out and his staff have done incredibly well in analysing their opponents so far.
#3. Wilfried Zaha is extremely crucial to the way Palace set up
With five at the back and a midfield four, it is no secret that Crystal Palace are set to break on the counter attack. With Eze and Jordan Ayew inverting as 10s, they have a quick outlet to release their forward who makes runs in behind the defense with his pace.
While Odsonne Edouard is a promising talent, Zaha's experience and abilities are better suited to this Palace side. The Ivorian also uses his physicality well and is often drawn into duels with fullbacks, which results in bookings for the opponents.
If he can stay fit for most of the season, one can expect Crystal Palace to comfortably finish in the top half and maybe even challenge for Europa League qualification.
#2. Manchester City never give up
If any side should be named champions, it is Manchester City. They displayed their mental fortitude in an astonishing fight back from 2-0 down against Aston Villa on the final day of last season to win 3-2. It earned them their sixth Premier League title in 10 years.
They came back from two goals down at 3-1 to make it 3-3 against Newcastle United last week. City continued to own their reputation as 'comeback kings' as they came from two goals down against a well-oiled Crystal Palace unit.
Pep Guardiola made two timely substitutions that shifted the moment in their favor and brought the game into balance. From that point on, City showed their mettle and character as they played a fearless brand of football to rip Crystal Palace apart.
They have fallen behind by two goals in four of their last six league games, yet have not lost any of those.
#1. Erling Haaland is a world-class striker
They say a great striker is one who despite not getting many chances, takes the one he gets and scores from them. That is exactly what Erling Haaland did against Palace to score his first hat-trick for Manchester City. It was the 22-year-old's 13th professional hat-trick in a young but highly-promising career so far.
He scored from all his three shots on target, a big reason why Pep Guardiola was categorical in acquiring his services over the summer. The towering Norwegian used his strength to win crucial duels against Joel Ward and Joachim Andersen as he made space for himself to run into.
Haaland has now scored six goals in the Premier League and is currently the top scorer.
