Man City pay penalty as Michael Olise secures dramatic draw for Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace’s Michael Olise forced a draw at Manchester City (Martin Rickett/PA)
Manchester City threw away a two-goal lead, and with it two precious points, as they were held to a 2-2 draw by Crystal Palace at the Etihad Stadium.
Michael Olise’s penalty, converted in the fifth minute of stoppage time, secured a priceless result for Roy Hodgson’s side, who had looked dead and buried when trailing 2-0 with only 14 minutes remaining.
Goals either side of half-time from Jack Grealish and Rico Lewis, his first in the Premier League, had Pep Guardiola’s side in control, but from nowhere Palace found a second wind, with Jean-Philippe Mateta reducing the deficit before, in the dying seconds, winning the spot-kick from which Olise coolly drew the Eagles level.
The result means City have failed to win three consecutive home games for the first time since December 2016, with Guardiola’s side likely to lose further ground on their rivals at the top of the table as they now head to Saudi Arabia in a bid to win the Club World Cup for the first time.
Even without their injured top scorer Erling Haaland, Guardiola’s side had looked in control for the most part here, but Palace have won twice at the Etihad in recent years and led 2-0 in this fixture last season, and they underlined their status as a bogey team for City with a rousing late fightback.
Hodgson’s side were second best in the first half, indebted to Dean Henderson for a fine early save from Julian Alvarez and a Marc Guehi block which denied Rodri. Ruben Dias also went close for City with a rasping 25-yarder.
But Palace’s resistance was undone in the 24th minute as Dias and Phil Foden combined to set up Grealish, who swept home his third goal in his last four games.
City were denied a second almost immediately, Henderson standing firm to deny Josko Gvardiol, who had broken the offside trap to reach Dias’ pass, while Foden was not far away with a blistering 30-yard strike which grazed the side-netting.
Palace’s first-half threat was limited, but one of their rare forward forays was ended when Ederson brought down Mateta outside the City penalty area. With defenders covering, the goalkeeper was shown only a yellow card, much to Hodgson’s annoyance, with Olise curling the subsequent free-kick inches wide.
After the break Alvarez had a goal ruled out for an offside against Rodri, but City extended their lead on 54 minutes when Jeffrey Schlupp diverted Grealish’s pass into the path of Lewis, who made no mistake with a drilled low finish past Henderson.
The Palace keeper acrobatically denied Bernardo Silva as City threatened to run away with it, and the visitors’ doggedness as Tyrick Mitchell released Schlupp, whose cross took out Ederson and was steered in from close-range by Mateta to make it 2-1.
City almost restored their two-goal cushion through Silva, who was again thwarted by the impressive Henderson, and in injury time Mateta was caught by Foden’s clumsy challenge, with Olise nervelessly converting the equaliser.
Ederson 5, K Walker 6, R Dias 6, N Ake 6, J Gvardiol 7, R Lewis 7 (J Stones 90), Rodri 6, B Silva 6, P Foden 6, J Grealish 7, J Alvarez 6 Substitutes (not used): S Ortega, K Phillips, M Kovacic, S Gomez, M Akanji, O Bobb, M Nunes, M Susoho Booked: Ederson Goals: Grealish (24), Lewis (54)
: D Henderson 8, N Clyne 6 (E Eze 90), J Ward 5 (D Ozoh 34, 6), J Andersen 5, M Guehi 6, T Mitchell 6, M Olise 8, C Richards 5, J Riedewald 5 (N Ahamada 81), J Schlupp 6 (M Franca 81), J Mateta 8 Substitutes (not used): R Matthews, J Tomkins, M Ebiowei, T Adaramola, A Ola-Adebomi Booked: Andersen Goals: Mateta (76), Olise (90+5 pen)
: P Tierney 6
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