FULL TIME: Crystal Palace 0-1 Manchester City
And that’s it. City nearly score a second too. Iheanacho nearly gets his second from another loose ball before Navas shoots across goal only for the ball to be headed wide. Iheanacho, on his second senior appearance, scored the winner.
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90 min +3: Such a frustarting way for Palace to lose this after they had dealt fairly comofortable with the attacks City had thrown at them. Still, City kept up the pressure and it paid off. Nasri is replaced by Demichelis.
90 min +2: Well, City had tried pot shots all half with no result but one eventually came off with the teenager Iheanacho picking up a loose ball after the save. McCarthy could perhaps have done better but no Palace players were marking Iheanacho.
GOAL! Palace 0-1 Man City (Iheanacho 90 min)
City mount a late attack, Kolariv zipping a cross into the box. And then a goal! Iheanacho, who had just come on as a sub, zips in to tap the ball into the net after McCarthy parries Nasri’s shot.
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89 min: Nearly! Zaha flashes a ball into the area and Gayle springs forward but makes all kinds of wrong with the shot and it bumbles wide. It was probably offside anyway - although there was no flag.
87 min: Kompany and Gayle meet aound 40 yards out with a free-kick and some pain for Gayle the result. Nothing from the free-kick though.
85 min: And Palace attack as the game winds down. Zaha chests down a cross around 10 yards out but never has complete control of the ball and City clear.
83 min: Puncheon limps off after that challenge and is replaced by Lee. It looked like Puncheon could have been cramping up rather than suffering from Mangala’s challenge though.
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81 min: Kolarov bundled over by Zaha,the free-kick just outside the area comes to nothing though. Bolasie is off to be replaced by Jedinak - Palace looking to defend the draw then. Mangala is booked for hauling down Puncheon as the Palace player breaks into the City half.
78 min: De Bruyne, by the way, has been good today - it was his pass earlier in the half that nearly let in Navas, who should have scored. If City are going to get the craft they need to break down Palace, it could well come from him. Having said that, he has just delivered a filthy cross that has all the threat of the Costa Rican army.
75 min: Nasri is booed for some reason, he was genuinely hurt by Hangeland earlier. City continue their tactic of shooting on sight - this time Toure pings a shot in from 25 yards that flies wide. A bit more nuance would be good from the visitors.
73 min: Nasri looks like he’s going to be OK. It was clumsy rather than cynical from Hangeland.
71 min: Palace have a chance! A cross plops on to Puncheon’s forehead and he looks to loop it over Hart, who pulls off a good, clawing save. Best shot of the half from either side and the Palace fans are in full voice. Nasri is booked for a lunge at Bolasie. And another booking, for Hangeland after Nasri is the victim this time. He looks in a bit of pain, as you would be if Hangeland clattered into you.
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68 min: Sagna’s cross is headed clear by Dann, then Nasri curls the ball a yard or so over. City pressing and pressing but McCarthy has yet to be forced into a tough save. Sako is replaced by Gayle, who fouls Toure almost immediately.
66 min: McArthur listens to my praise of Toure and the danger he poses - and clatters Toure to the ground. Fernandinho then picks up a lay-off from Bony and hits it like a Kevin Anderson serve - both of which are very good at going nowhere near the net, very fast. All City now.
63 min: Nasri lurks with intent on the edge of the area. Eventually it comes to Toure, who plays a brilliant pinged ball into the box. Hangeland does a weird loppy clearance which could have gone anywhere but drops to safety. Toure then has a driven cross flash across goal. He’s been behind all that is good with City this half.
61 min: That one cross-shot and a Zaha cross aside, Palace have been far quieter than City this half. Bolasie tries to spin away from Kompany but the City defender is too canny for him and clears the danger.
58 min: Looking back at that penalty shout, it looked like Nasri had his ankle clipped as he slalomed his way through the box. I’ve only seen it from one angle so I could be wrong. At the other end Zaha is tricking his way into the City area but he fouls his marker and it’s a free-kick to City.
56 min: Zaha is definitely looking dangerous on the right but City have had more of the attacking moments this half. Toure shoots from distance on his left but McCarthy gets down well to save - and hold on to it too. Nasri is sure he has a penalty - he had a point too. But the ref waves play on. More from Bryan on the Celine Dion concert: “When she covered Kiss and then Purple Rain is when it went from one of the best concerts I’ve ever seen to one of the most important nights of my life.” He paid $110 for that!
Getting ready the most emotional night of my life. pic.twitter.com/ZwRqcyKMPv
— Bryan Armen Graham (@BryanAGraham) September 12, 2015
52 min: GOAAA... Ah no. Navas is racing clear of Puncheon and only has the keeper to beat. He’s just too fast for Palace as he rounds McCarthy. He’s also too fast for himself and doesn’t have time to set himself and pass the ball into the net. Instead he shoots wide of the empty goal. Oh dear.
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50 min: Toure tries a charge forward but it’s cut out by Cabaye before anything can develop. City are happy to sit around 40 yards out and ping it about but there’s no killer ball, and after a while Kolarov gets bored and whallops the ball over the bar. At the other end, Hart has to push a cross-shot wide - no Palace players were lurking to put it in.
47 min: Zaha has started the second-half on the right-hand side in a wee switch of tactics. And he’s straight into the action, skipping down the wing before a few stepovers are followed by an overhit cross.
46 min: And we’re back. Palace start the half with a punt to the sidelines. Still, keeps City in their own half. I’m now taking over from Bryan in Vegas, who has had to wander off to write about The Serena Incident. And then attend the Floyd Mayweather fight. He actually went to the Celine Dion concert last night as a warm-up but doesn’t like to talk about it. “People are going to think I’m joking or being ironic but it was one of the best things I’ve ever seen,” he told me earlier.
Half-time: Crystal Palace 0-0 Manchester City
And there’s the half-time whistle. A rip-roaring start that soon gave way to more measured exchanges from both sides. Difficult to augur which pace will prevail over the final 45 minutes but given the stakes in this first-v-second tangle it will be compelling either way.
45 min+3: Bony fouled by Zaha near midfield.
45 min+2: De Bruyne fires a shot on goal but McCarthy makes the save!
45 min: The ball falls to Puncheon, who despite nearly getting dragged down by a handsy Toure still uncorks a shot from 18 yards. It sails over the bar for a goal kick. The fourth official signals four minutes of stoppage time.
43 min: Better from City here, who are keeping possession. But now they’re dispossessed by Zaha, who runs with the ball up the right flank. He gives in to Sako but makes a scatter-brained move forward to when the pass comes back his way he’s ruled offside.
40 min: The sides trade possession in the middle third. Action has gone a bit rudderless here five minutes from half-time.
37 min: Palace dispossessed in midfield by De Bruyne and he leads the charge up the right flank, but his cross into the middle is intercepted.
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35 min: Nasri’s attempt floats harmlessly in the general direction of the goal before it’s cleared. Thought certainly we’d have a goal by now based on the frenetic pace of the start.
34 min: City win a free kick roughly 40 yards from goal.
32 min: McCarthy called upon to make two saves. Ball fed in the center of the area to Bony, who turns and takes a shot that caroms off McCarthy. It’s then played back into Bony, whose second attempt is also corralled easily.
30 min: A half hour down, still little to separate these two.
28 min: Another build-up by Palace is interrupted when Bolasie is taken down by Toure, who’d better be careful as he’s been involved in a few conflagrations already today – including one two minutes ago that put him in the referee’s book.
26 min: Toure shown yellow for a late challenge nowhere near the ball in front of the technical area.
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23 min: Aguero down again gripping his right knee. Not good. Now coming on for Aguero is City’s record signing Kevin De Bruyne.
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22 min: Aguero back on but he’s wincing. Something’s not right.
21 min: Aguero gingerly makes his way off the pitch on his own. Play resumes and Palace are right back at it again. They’re immediately threatening and nearly win a corner. Instead it’s ruled a throw-in.
19 min: Aguero still down. Worrying sight for City.
18 min: Shrewd interplay by Cabaye and Bolasie up the right flank. Ball finds to Cabaye in the box but he’s taken down by Fernandinho before he can put it on goal. Nothing from the referee. Moments later as City move to counter, Aguero is taken down recklessly by Dann, who didn’t seem to be make a play for the ball. Could have been a straight red: Dann is fortunate to be shown yellow. Aguero is down.
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16 min: City work it up the left flank through Nasri, but his cross through toward the top of the area skids through untouched by either side. The visitors retain possession, boot it back to midfield and start again with the build-up.
13 min: A bit of a pause in the action. No fault to either team after that frenetic up-and-down opening.
11 min: Set-piece savant Souare steps up to take it and fires to the far post past a lunging Joe Hart ... just wide.
10 min: A free kick won by Palace near midfield and now they’re working it up the pitch slowly from the back. Moving up the left flank Zaha is taken down and Palace are awarded a free kick. They’ll have a set piece from a dangerous position here.
7 min: City win a free kick and take it very quickly, leading to a quick chance for Nasri, who’s attempt is snuffed out by McCarthy. Then on the other end Bolasie has yet another chance. What a start!
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5 min: City have regrouped, and now it’s a patient gradual build-up ending with their first real chance of the day: a cross into Wilfried Bony which he heads toward the goal with pace – but directly into McCarthy’s waiting hands.
3 min: And Palace wins the first corner of the match. Sako takes it and finds Bolasie at the near post, but he can’t put it on the goal. What a start by Palace, moving quickly about the pitch and incisive in attack.
2 min: A lightning-quick counterattack by Palace ends when the ball falls to Bolasie and he fires to the near post but misses wide.
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1 min: And we’re off! Palace attacking from left to right in traditional home kits, with City in light blue shirts and white shorts going right to left. And it’s City early keeping possession and building up from the back.
Welcome! It’s been quite a morning for City supporters, no doubt thrilled at the latest eye-popping Chelsea result that sees the reigning league champions pushed further down the table. Now they’ll turn their attention to Crystal Palace in an unlikely matchup between the top two teams in the league this season to date.
“I think we’re good to watch. We’re different to Manchester City. They retain the ball, they can dominate possession, and that will be the key - how many times we can unlock the door on our breakaways,” Palace manager Alan Pardew said this week. “It’s great for our fans because of a little bit of ribbing about a top of the league clash.”
Bryan will be here shortly, in the meantime here are your teams:
Crystal Palace v Manchester City line-ups
Crystal Palace: McCarthy; Kelly, Dann (c), Hangeland, Souare; McArthur, Cabaye; Zaha, Puncheon, Sako; Bolasie. Subs: Hennessey, Mariappa, Jedinak, Mutch, Lee, Campbell, Gayle.
Manchester City: Hart, Sagna, Kompany (c), Mangala, Kolarov, Fernandinho, Toure, Nasri, Navas, Bony, Aguero. Subs: Caballero, Demichelis, Otamanedi, Garcia, Roberts, Iheanacho, De Bruyne.
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