By Our Man at Selhurst Park
The fortress walls of Selhurst Park came crashing down yesterday as Manchester City delivered a brutal and clinical 3-0 demolition of Crystal Palace, with Erling Haaland grabbing a brace to keep Pep Guardiola’s side firmly on the heels of the Premier League leaders.
Despite the famous south London ground often being a nightmare trip for City—Palace famously beat them in the FA Cup Final here just months ago—the blue machine ensured this time there would be no repeat of the Eagles’ Lair heroics.
Palace, managed by tactical wizard Oliver Glasner, were hoping the electrifying atmosphere of their home ground would inspire another shock result. And for the first half, the famous Holmesdale Road End was rocking, roaring on an Eagles side that twice rattled the woodwork.
Yeremy Pino smashed a shot against the crossbar when clean through, and Adam Wharton later cracked a low drive against the post.
In a different world, spurred on by the deafening Selhurst Park faithful, either of those might have gone in.
But this City side are ruthless, and while the crowd brought the noise, the visitors brought the COLD, HARD FINISHING.
Just before the break, when the Selhurst buzz was at its peak, Matheus Nunes delivered a perfect cross that found Erling Haaland lurking. The big Norwegian, barely seen up to that point, rose above his marker to power a superb header past Dean Henderson.
Goal! The stadium lights dimmed a little, the famous atmosphere suddenly feeling flat as the score stood at 0-1 at half-time.
Palace emerged for the second half with renewed fight, but it was Phil Foden who dealt the hammer blow.
Following a blistering run from Rayan Cherki, Foden collected the ball and arrowed a superb low drive from 20 yards into the bottom corner.
Goal! The Selhurst Park faithful, known for their relentless support, fell into a frustrated silence.
Haaland then sealed the deal from the penalty spot in the 89th minute after Dean Henderson had felled Savinho, punishing the keeper for a clumsy challenge. It was a miserable end to a day where the home side’s grit was ultimately undone by City’s killer instinct.
The 3-0 scoreline was perhaps harsh on the home side’s effort, but it perfectly illustrated City’s title-winning credentials: they can weather the storm, silence the crowd, and still walk away with all three points. Selhurst Park may be a fortress, but yesterday, it was conquered.
