You’d be crazy to think it is over, says Kompany

Palace 0 Manchester City 2

Skipper Vincent Kompany was just as reticent, stating: “You would be crazy to think it is over.”

Handed the opportunity to close the gap in the leaders to three points with a game in hand – and, crucially, a far superior goal difference – Pellegrini’s side produced a performance marked by composure and two excellent first- half goals, the first from Edin Dzeko, the second superbly executed by Yaya Toure to end Crystal Palace’s run of five straight wins.

Advantage City, then. But only just, according to Pellegrini who grudgingly accepted the tag of favourites. “Yes, but we must win the three games,” said the City manager. “I repeat: I’ve always said that all big teams must be under pressure to win the title, and we are a big team like Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal, United. We’ll see if we cope with the pressure.

“It depends on what we can do in the future. For now, we continue in third position. Liverpool have three points more, Chelsea one more. But we have to win. If we do that, we will see. We are not thinking about goal difference. We are thinking about beating Everton next week. We don’t know if we will win our three games, Liverpool will win their two or Chelsea also. We just concentrate on winning the next game. We must win all our games. ”

Vincent Kompany, once again outstanding in defence, agreed with his manager, insisting this is no time to start premature celebrations. “You would be crazy to think it is over,” said the defender. “We did our job, it’s in our own hands and you can’t do more than that. There have been so many swaps and changes over the season, we are still very calm.”

The result from Anfield had provided Pellegrini’s side with the perfect incentive and they responded in exactly the right manner. That hasn’t always been the case this season, with City too often guilty of squandering opportunities to take control of the title race, but on this occasion there was a confidence and steely determination to their play, personified by Toure.

The midfielder had missed the last two games – the home draw with Sunderland, a game when summed up City’s inconsistency this season, and the victory over West Bromwich Albion – after injuring himself in the defeat at Liverpool. But back in the side, he gave the impression of someone who had resolved to restore some drive towards his team’s challenge.

Toure’s contribution to Dzeko’s fourth minute opening goal highlighted his composure, with the Ivorian happy to exchange passes with Sergio Aguero on the edge of the Palace area before clipping a perfectly placed cross between the two home centre-backs, allowing his team-mate to head powerfully home from just six yards out.

Then, two minutes before the break, Toure effectively killed off the game, advancing half the length of the pitch and exchanging passes with Dzeko and Samir Nasri before fending off a challenge from Damien Delaney and finishing calmly.

It was the midfielder’s 19th league goal of the season, his sixth in six appearances, and from that point a determined, but limited Palace side were never likely to provide an absorbing title race with yet another unexpected twist.

City travel to Everton next Saturday where victory will move them top. The challenge will then be to maintain that position for their final two games, away at Aston Villa before the final day meeting with West Ham United at the Etihad Stadium. The trip to Goodison Park appears decisive but Kompany and his team-mates know from past experience to avoid complacency whatever happens next weekend.

CRYSTAL PALACE (4-2-3-1): Speroni 6; Mariappa 7, Dann 7, Delaney 6, Ward 6; Jedinak 6, Ledley 6; Puncheon 8, Chamakh 6 (Gayle 68,6), Bolasie 5 (Ince 71,7); Jerome 5 (Murray 68,7).

MANCHESTER CITY (4-2-3-1): Hart 6; Zabaleta 7, Kompany 8, Demichelis 6, Kolarov 6; Milner 7, Garcia 8, Toure 9 (Fernandinho 65,6), Nasri 7; Aguero 7 (Jovetic 77,6), Dzeko 8 (Negredo 87,6).

Referee: Howard Webb.