Crystal Palace zero-zero Manchester Metropolis

Manchester Metropolis boss Pep Guardiola reiterated his perception his side is no longer going to battle by the Premier League season unbeaten after their 18-recreation prime-flight a success bustle used to be ended by a goalless map at Crystal Palace.

Metropolis conceded an spoil-time penalty but goalkeeper Ederson saved from Luka Milivojevic, prompting Match of the Day host Gary Lineker to bellow Guardiola’s side like an « air of invincibility about them ».

The map preserves their unbeaten file in the league this season and takes them 14 sides clear on the tip – the ultimate gap between the leaders and the chasing pack at this stage of the season in prime-flight historic past.

Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal went by the 2003-04 Premier League season unbeaten, but Guardiola thinks Metropolis is no longer going to study that feat.

« I am no longer taking into consideration to be unbeaten, » said Guardiola. « That is no longer going to occur.

« Per chance Arsene is terrified about that but I checklist him over and over that 2004 bustle is for him. This day is fully completely different to 2004.

« There are in actuality extra right teams, a host of competitions, a host of video games. »

Guardiola left Selhurst Park with two spoil concerns – striker Gabriel Jesus leaving the sector in tears in the major 1/2, and playmaker Kevin de Bruyne taken off on a stretcher after a heavy address from Jason Puncheon in the closing minute.

It leaves Metropolis with easiest one match senior striker in Sergio Aguero, who came on for Jesus.

Palace energy gets deserved level

Palace had been rewarded as their defensive grit and off-the-ball energy shone by in an keen contest.

The search recordsdata from, after they pressed so ferociously in the major 1/2, used to be whether they had been match ample in the center of the congested Christmas fixture list to discover it up.

However they did exact that, with midfielder Milivojevic covering extra ground than somebody on the pitch (12.Sixty 9 km), although that may possibly well be of minute consolation after his negate-kick – given when Raheem Ample fouled Wilfried Zaha in the sector in the 92nd minute – used to be saved.

The level manner the Eagles commence the unique yr outdoors of the underside three, a level above West Ham in 18th – symbolic for a club that suffered seven straight defeats without scoring all by their depressing commence to the season.

In addition they secured easiest their second home successfully-organized sheet in the league all season, against a team that has scored 102 goals in 2017.

The map back to taking half in their energetic segment in such an eventful contest used to be a first-1/2 spoil to centre-wait on Scott Dann, with boss Roy Hodgson already light on defenders in Mamadou Sakho’s absence thanks to a calf bellow.

However they have to buy heart from organising completely different opportunities to take dangle of as adverse to the penalty – elephantine-wait on Patrick van Aanholt discovering out Ederson in the major 1/2 and Andros Townsend losing a gilt-edged likelihood to transform on seventy eight minutes.

With Yohan Cabaye taking half in further forward than he did in their defeat by Arsenal, Palace had a braveness with the ball to study their resilience off it.

« I am very proud of the team’s performance, » said Hodgson. « I do know how subtle it’s miles to play a team of Manchester Metropolis’s wonderful.

« Sooner than the recreation we would had been leaping by hoops at having claimed a level, then you discover a penalty gradual in the recreation, so there may possibly be a bellow of sadness at an substitute overlooked.

« However I’ve said to the avid gamers: ‘Proceed that degree of performance week after week and we have bought an outstanding likelihood of staying in the league.' »

No crisis for Metropolis but set up on and saunter mounts

No longer a success their nineteenth consecutive league recreation is rarely proof of the wheels coming off Metropolis’s title cost, but there had been signs that may possibly well well possibly very successfully be problematic in south London.

Their ninth recreation in December seen extra onus on the mighty creativity of De Bruyne in David Silva’s continued absence.

However the Belgian’s negate-pieces had been off color – easiest one of six deliveries used to be awful, and his passing accuracy (Eighty%) used to be lower than any completely different starting up Metropolis participant.

Now Guardiola may possibly well well possibly like to cope without him after that gradual withdrawal, although he seemed in a place to stroll alongside club physios after being carried off.

Leroy Sane may possibly well well possibly step up to beget the outlet in the upcoming weeks, but he struggled too. The 21-yr-veteran received easiest 1/2 of his 14 duels, and used to be customarily second easiest to Palace defender Timothy Fosu-Mensah.

He used to be meekly dispossessed by the on-mortgage Manchester United man in the major 1/2, and berated by De Bruyne over the timing of one other bustle. Then he used to be booked for kicking the ball away in frustration.

It stays to be seen if Guardiola moves to bolster his assault by prising Alexis Sanchez from Arsenal in January, nonetheless the Metropolis boss said in his post-match news conference that he expects the forward to follow the Gunners.

« He’s a participant for Arsenal and I have he goes to forestall there, » he said. « In two days we like now one other recreation after that we like now meetings. My feeling now is Alexis is an Arsenal participant. »

Man of the match – Kyle Walker (Manchester Metropolis)

Rare away clean for Metropolis – the stats

• This used to be Metropolis’s first away goalless attract the Premier League since March 2016 against Norwich Metropolis, ending a bustle of 34 suits whereby as a minimum one design used to be scored.
• Completely two teams like received extra Premier League sides in a calendar yr than Metropolis in 2017 (Ninety eight) – Man Utd in 1993 (102) and Chelsea in 2005 (one zero one).
• Palace like easiest misplaced one of their past 10 Premier League video games (W3 D6), having misplaced thirteen of their 16 earlier than this bustle.
• Hodgson has now failed to see his side ranking in his past 5 Premier League suits against Man Metropolis (D2 L3), a goalless bustle that stands at 465 minutes.
• This used to be Palace’s fourth successfully-organized sheet in their past eight Premier League video games, as many as they had managed in their 25 suits ahead of this.
• Metropolis goalkeepers like saved 10 of the past 17 penalties they’ve confronted in all competitions, with four completely different goalkeepers saving these 10 (Joe Hart, Claudio Bravo, Willy Caballero and Ederson).
• Wayne Hennessey used to be the major Palace goalkeeper since Nigel Martyn in Might possibly possibly possibly also merely 1993 to discover a Premier League successfully-organized sheet against Metropolis.
• Palace like overlooked 5 penalties for the reason that commence of closing season, two extra than any completely different Premier League side.
• Ample is mainly the most easy Premier League participant to like both received and conceded a penalty this season.

What’s subsequent?

Crystal Palace saunter to St Mary’s Stadium to face Southampton on 2 January (19:Forty five GMT), whereas Manchester Metropolis host Watford on the same evening (20:00 GMT).