Manchester City beat Crystal Palace 3-0 on Wednesday to stay firmly in the Premier League title race. Antoine Semenyo, Omar Marmoush and Savinho scored at the Etihad Stadium as Pep Guardiola’s side moved to within two points of leaders Arsenal FC with two matches left.
Guardiola rotated heavily after the weekend win against Brentford. Erling Haaland and Jeremy Doku started on the bench, while Phil Foden led the attack and controlled most of City’s forward play.
City dominated possession from the start but needed half an hour to break Palace down. Foden slipped a clever reverse pass into Semenyo’s path in the 32nd minute, and the forward guided his finish beyond Dean Henderson.
The second goal arrived eight minutes later. Foden again created the opening, rolling the ball into Omar Marmoush, who finished calmly for his third Premier League goal of the season.
Palace offered little threat going forward. Oliver Glasner shuffled his side with the UEFA Conference League final against Rayo Vallecano approaching later this month, and City controlled the match without much resistance.
John Stones received a strong reception when he came off the bench late in the second half. The England defender will leave the club at the end of the season.
Savinho completed the scoring after Rayan Cherki carried the ball from deep and released the Brazilian winger inside the box. Savinho struck low past Henderson to seal City’s victory.
“We just have to keep pushing and doing our part,” Phil Foden told Sky Sports.
“We’ve seen a lot of things can happen on the final day.”
City now sit on 77 points, two behind Arsenal. Guardiola’s side hold a slightly better goal difference and have scored seven more goals than the north London club.
City face Chelsea FC in the FA Cup final on Saturday before returning to league action against Bournemouth. Arsenal meet Burnley next Monday before travelling to Selhurst Park on the final day.
