Manchester City vs Crystal Palace - LIVE!
Manchester City recovered from a disastrous start to thrash Crystal Palace 5-2 and move into the top four of the Premier League. Pep Guardiola’s side were two goals behind with barely 20 minutes on the clock, as Eberechi Eze finished off a lovely move and Chris Richards was then allowed to get up and nod in from a corner from a couple of yards out.
Palace were rampant on the counter, particularly down their right side, and were inches away from a third as Eze found the bottom corner, only to be denied by the offside flag. That proved to be a turning point, as Kevin De Bruyne then whipped in a free-kick off the inside of the post and the match flipped on its head.
City were suddenly dominant, De Bruyne at the heart of everything, and his nodded header into the middle brought a mis-kick from Ilkay Gundogan, but that took the ball into the path of Omar Marmoush to lash home an equaliser. Within two minutes of the restart, City were in front. De Bruyne’s lay-off found Mateo Kovacic, and he ran onto it to finish calmly on the stretch. Three became four when Ederson pinged a glorious ball over the top of the Palace defence, James McAtee beat the offside trap and went round Dean Henderson, and there was still time for Nico O’Reilly to join the fun, his volleyed strike flicking off Nathan Clyne on the way to the bottom corner.
Man City vs Crystal Palace latest news
- GOAL! McAtee scores from Ederson assist
- GOAL! Kovacic completes sensational turnaround
- GOAL! Marmoush gets Man City level before HT
- GOAL! De Bruyne pulls one back with free-kick
- GOAL! Richards continues dream Palace start
- GOAL! Eze fires Crystal Palace into early lead
FT: Man City 5-2 Crystal Palace
14:29 , Matt VerriCrystal Palace could have gone 3-0 up... they’ve lost 5-2.
Oliver Glasner’s side fell away after a brilliant start and Man City were absolutely ruthless.
Man City 5-2 Crystal Palace
14:25 , Matt Verri90+4 mins: Big Palace appeals for a penalty. Did Lewis handball it? Referee says no, VAR says no.
Lerma then says no to Doku skipping past him and wipes the winger out. Yellow card.
Man City 5-2 Crystal Palace
14:24 , Matt Verri90+3 mins: Lovely skill from Bobb, creates the chance for Doku and his shot is blocked.
Falls for Grealish, who for some reason decides not to shoot from ten yards out and instead goes for a backheel... to nobody in blue.
Man City 5-2 Crystal Palace
14:21 , Matt Verri90 mins: Guardiola leaning back on his chair with his hands behind his head. As relaxed as he’s ever looked.
Seven minutes added on. Groans from the Palace players.
Man City 5-2 Crystal Palace
14:19 , Matt Verri88 mins: Huge ovation for De Bruyne as he comes off. Ridiculously good today.
Kovacic also replaced, as Doku and Grealish come on.
Man City 5-2 Crystal Palace
14:16 , Matt Verri85 mins: Neeeearly 5-3.
Franca scuffs an effort across the face of goal, Sarr can’t quite catch up with it at the back post.
Man City 5-2 Crystal Palace
14:13 , Matt Verri82 mins: A couple of changes for City too.
Bobb and Savinho on for Marmoush and McAtee.
Man City 5-2 Crystal Palace
14:1181 mins: Glasner decides this one is done, off come two of his key players. Franca and Devenny on for Eze and Wharton.
GOAL! Man City 5-2 Crystal Palace | Nico O'Reilly 79'
14:09 , Matt VerriMore like it!
Lovely finish. Palace head a cross out to the edge of the box, where O’Reilly guides a brilliant volley into the bottom corner.
Controlled that perfectly.
Saying that... took a slight deflection off Clyne.
Man City 4-2 Crystal Palace
14:08 , Matt Verri77 mins: Camera cuts to Haaland watching on... mainly because not very much is happening.
This is what it used to feel like when City were seeing matches out.
Man City 4-2 Crystal Palace
14:05 , Matt Verri74 mins: It’s been all-action for most of the afternoon, but the pace of this match has slowed down a fair bit in the last five or six minutes.
City know they don’t need to push anything, Palace keen to avoid further punishment.
Man City 4-2 Crystal Palace
14:02 , Matt Verri71 mins: Indeed it is, Ederson limps off.
Ortega on for the final 20 minutes or so - first sub Guardiola has made this afternoon.
Man City 4-2 Crystal Palace
14:00 , Matt Verri70 mins: Ederson has gone down off the ball, looks to be his right leg being stretched out.
Ortega getting ready to come on, looks like Ederson’s match is done.
Man City 4-2 Crystal Palace
13:59 , Matt Verri68 mins: Lerma very, very calm in his own half as he spins past De Bruyne.
McAtee tries to back his team-mate up, but it’s a bit of a wild hack and that’s a yellow card for the Man City man.
Man City 4-2 Crystal Palace
13:55 , Matt Verri65 mins: De Bruyne stunned as the whistle goes for a free-kick against him - he doesn’t think he touched Eze.
But the Crystal Palace man has stayed down... then dragged himself up... then gone straight back down again.
Needs some treatment.
Man City 4-2 Crystal Palace
13:53 , Matt Verri62 mins: A goal and an assist for De Bruyne this afternoon and he’s deserved it to be much, more more.
Chilwell and Clyne on for Mitchell and Lacroix.
Man City 4-2 Crystal Palace
13:50 , Matt Verri59 mins: Palace struggling to get near the ball - this could be a long slog from here now.
Fallen apart quite dramatically, considering they were a tight offside decision away from a 3-0 lead.
It should now be 5-2! De Bruyne with a glorious low cross, Marmoush denied by Henderson from point-blank range.
Gundogan’s volley blocked, O’Reilly’s header over. Rampant stuff.
GOAL! Man City 4-2 Crystal Palace | James McAtee 56'
13:47 , Matt VerriDecent way to mark your first Premier League start for Man City!
And it all comes from a stunning Ederson pass. Pinged over the top, perfectly drops for McAtee and he goes round Henderson before finishing into the empty net.
Man City 3-2 Crystal Palace
13:45 , Matt Verri54 mins: Lacroix the latest player to be shown a yellow card, went in late on Kovacic.
Not a great position for De Bruyne, best part of 40 yards out and fairly central.
Floated to the back post, drops for Kovacic and Wharton blocks the volley.
Man City 3-2 Crystal Palace
13:41 , Matt Verri51 mins: This could be anything, this match.
Marmoush flicks a lovely pass into the path of McAtee, who is completely free at the back post. First-time effort sails over the bar.
Man City 3-2 Crystal Palace
13:40 , Matt Verri49 mins: The good news for Palace is that City still look vulnerable on pretty much every counter.
Bad news is that City have found something in attack since the De Bruyne free-kick. So much more dangerous.
GOAL! Man City 3-2 Crystal Palace | Mateo Kovacic 47'
13:38 , Matt VerriPicked up right where we left off!
O’Reilly in behind down the left. His cut-back isn’t great, but De Bruyne gets there and lays it off for Kovacic... he finds the bottom corner.
Back underway!
13:36 , Matt VerriHughes on for Palace at the break, replacing Mateta.
We won’t call that a straight swap...
Goal that turned it around...
13:26 , Matt VerriEberechi Eze was marginally offside, denying Crystal Palace a third goal and a 3-0 lead.
That proved a key turning point. After Kevin De Bruyne whipped this in, it has been one-way traffic.
Vintage Kevin De Bruyne 😮💨
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) April 12, 2025
The skipper with an incredible free-kick to pull a goal back for the hosts 🎯
📺 @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/erIP0IgCbl
HT: Man City 2-2 Crystal Palace
13:19 , Matt VerriWell that was fun!
Crystal Palace absolutely brilliant at the start of half, running Man City ragged and threatening to score three or four.
But the hosts have hit back superbly and they could easily be leading at the break.
Man City 2-2 Crystal Palace
13:17 , Matt Verri45+1 mins: And City should be in front!
De Bruyne dances into space in the box, only Henderson to beat but he smashes the strike over the bar with his right foot.
Looked certain to score.
Man City 2-2 Crystal Palace
13:16 , Matt Verri45 mins: City are suffocating Palace at the end of this half, not letting the visitors get out.
Three minutes added on.
Man City 2-2 Crystal Palace
13:14 , Matt Verri43 mins: De Bruyne does well to avoid a booking of his own.
Gives Eze a big hug to stop the Crystal Palace man spinning and breaking into space, but it’s just a free-kick.
Man City 2-2 Crystal Palace
13:10 , Matt Verri40 mins: Palace remember that they are quite good at countering and decide to give it another go.
Nico drags back Mateta, clear yellow card... even with the midfielder trying to delay things by going down holding his face.
Man City 2-2 Crystal Palace
13:09 , Matt Verri38 mins: Palace could really do with half-time, this is only going one way at the moment.
Visitors have got everyone camped near enough on the edge of their own box now.
GOAL! Man City 2-2 Crystal Palace | Omar Marmoush 36'
13:07 , Matt VerriWell that has felt inevitable since the De Bruyne free-kick!
Wave after wave of attacks from Man City and it doesn’t take long for the pressure to tell.
McAtee stands up a cross to the back post, De Bruyne nods it down. Gundogan misses his volley, but it falls for Marmoush and he lashes it past Henderson.
Man City 1-2 Crystal Palace
13:05 , Matt Verri34 mins: And now City are rampant.
De Bruyne is trying to do it himself. Should slide in Marmoush, but goes by himself and the shot is blocked.
McAtee then has a free header from six yards out, has to score but he flicks the header wide.
GOAL! Man City 1-2 Crystal Palace | Kevin De Bruyne 33'
13:03 , Matt VerriGame on!
De Bruyne unsurprisingly pulls rank and he’s got City back in this.
Reverse it to the goalkeeper’s side, Henderson barely moves as it goes in off the inside of the post.
Man City 0-2 Crystal Palace
13:02 , Matt Verri31 mins: Kamada shown a yellow card.
Such a needless challenge, flying in on Nico 25 yards out. Doesn’t get the ball and it’s an obvious booking.
Plenty in a City shirt interested in this...
Man City 0-2 Crystal Palace
13:01 , Matt Verri30 mins: Here we go again.
Munoz getting right up the pitch, nods it past O’Reilly and he has half the pitch to run into again.
This time O’Reilly’s pace gets him out of trouble.
GOOO... OFFSIDE!
12:59 , Matt VerriPalace look like scoring with every attack.
Munoz wins the ball back and plays it across the City defence to Eze, who works it onto his right foot and bends a finish into the bottom corner.
Offside flag is up, though.
Man City 0-2 Crystal Palace
12:57 , Matt Verri26 mins: City have got huge problems down their left.
Again Palace get to the byline, cut-back to Sarr and he should probably make it 3-0.
He was free in the box, but blasts over the bar.
Man City 0-2 Crystal Palace
12:55 , Matt Verri24 mins: Off the post!
De Bruyne inches away from halving the deficit. Mitchell flies in to block the first effort, but it comes back to the Belgian and he whips an effort against the woodwork.
Gundogan throws himself at the rebound but he’s offside.
GOAL! Man City 0-2 Crystal Palace | Chris Richards 21'
12:52 , Matt VerriO’Reilly is struggling for City. Caught out a couple of times in behind and now Munoz is too strong for him, nudging him off the ball and winning a corner.
Wharton swings this in... and it’s a second Palace goal!
So, so easy. Ederson with a flap, Richards allowed to get up in front of him and nod in from a couple of yards out.
Man City 0-1 Crystal Palace
12:48 , Matt Verri17 mins: City are wildly open when Palace win the ball back.
Sarr very nearly in again, but the pass isn’t quite good enough. Would have been a three-on-two for the visitors.
Man City 0-1 Crystal Palace
12:44 , Matt Verri13 mins: Should be 1-1!
Great ball through from De Bruyne and Marmoush is clean through on goal.
His effort is smothered by Henderson, with Marmoush claiming he was being pulled back by Richards.
Rebound comes to De Bruyne, his effort is deflected wide.
Man City 0-1 Crystal Palace
12:42 , Matt Verri11 mins: Marmoush tries to slide a pass through to Gundogan, but it’s straight to a yellow shirt.
Palace moving the ball around really nicely, happy to play through a pretty aggressive City press.
GOAL! Man City 0-1 Crystal Palace | Eberechi Eze 8'
12:39 , Matt VerriBrilliant move!
City carved open. Comes down the Palace right, as Munoz plays Sarr in behind.
Ball played across the face of goal, Eze left with a simple finish at the back post.
Man City 0-0 Crystal Palace
12:36 , Matt Verri5 mins: McAtee played in on goal by a lovely clipped ball over the top from Kovacic.
He tries to lift a finish over Henderson, but ends up cushioning a tame effort straight into his arms.
Man City 0-0 Crystal Palace
12:34 , Matt Verri3 mins: Palace already looking comfortable on the ball.
Spread wide to Munoz, who whips in an early cross from deep. Mateta free in the middle and flicks a header wide, but he was a couple of yards offside anyway.
KICK-OFF!
12:31 , Matt VerriWe’re up and running!
Here we go!
12:28 , Matt VerriTeams are out, De Bruyne leading Man City out. Not many more times left doing that.
Reminder that victory will take City up to fourth, at least for 24 hours. Crystal Palace have the chance to move into the top half.
Not long now...
12:19 , Matt VerriWarm-ups done at the Etihad, kick-off just ten minutes away.
Perfect afternoon in Manchester, a Palace side in flying form promising to take the match to Man City...
This could be a lot of fun.
Semi-automated offside brought in
12:13 , Matt VerriSemi-automated offside technology (SAOT) will finally make its Premier League debut this afternoon..
The Premier League says the system will not change the accuracy of decision-making, which has been at 100 per cent this season. However, it is expected to speed up the process - league bosses anticipate shaving 31 seconds off the length of the average offside check.
VARs will no longer need to manually draw offside lines, except in "edge cases" where several players block the view of the ball or other players for the system's cameras.
That contributed to the delays witnessed at the Bournemouth v Wolves FA Cup tie on March 1, where SAOT was in use.
The images generated by SAOT will be available for broadcasters to use and to show on stadium big screens.
An offside decision will be shown with a red line and onside with a green line. A white vertical wall will represent the offside line, with a blue "pulse" on the defender's relevant body part.
Glasner talks up Palace confidence
12:04 , Matt VerriOliver Glasner has been speaking ahead of kick-off too, and he appears to be in bullish mood.
"Since November it has started to grow and of course, with results and performances, the belief and confidence has increased,” he says.
"I think, across the season you have games when you miss key players. We have missed Guehi, Nketiah, Eze this season at points and managed to win. We are facing a strong Man City team and it is important for us to be at our top level this season.
"Always when we started as kids, in the park or as a kid, you want to win. That is no different today."
Pre-match thoughts from Pep Guardiola
11:56Unsurprisingly, it’s the news about Kevin De Bruyne’s departure at the end of the season that is still dominating much of the talk again...
“His legacy will be eternal.” 💙
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) April 12, 2025
Pep Guardiola on the race for Champions League football and Kevin de Bruyne's announcement 🤝
🎙 @Becky_Ives_ | 📺 @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/91SciB6as3
Foden absence explained
11:49 , Matt VerriPhil Foden misses out on the squad this afternoon, as we covered earlier.
It’s believed to be an ankle injury that keeps the Man City star out of this match, with Foden not recovering from a knock he picked up at Old Trafford last weekend.
In the building!
11:40 , Matt VerriThe visitors have arrived at the Etihad.
Jean-Philippe Mateta in high spirits...
"I am the security" 😎🤣
— Crystal Palace F.C. (@CPFC) April 12, 2025
Afternoon, JP.#CPFC // #MCICRY pic.twitter.com/AxszX0yjiC
Guardiola tweaks side
11:25 , Matt VerriInteresting lineup for Man City.
Rico Lewis back at right-back, replacing Matheus Nunes who has been preferred recently.
Nico O’Reilly on the other side of defence again, while James McAtee earns a rare start.
Jack Grealish, Savinho and Jeremy Doku all on the bench... Phil Foden not in the squad at all.
Crystal Palace team news
11:19 , Matt VerriStarting XI: Henderson, Richards, Lacroix, Lerma, Munoz, Wharton, Kamada, Mitchell, Sarr, Eze, Mateta
Subs: Matthews, Ward, Clyne, Chilwell, Kporha, Hughes, Devenny, Franca, Umeh
Man City team news
11:15 , Matt VerriStarting XI: Ederson, Lewis, Dias, Gvardiol, O’Reilly, Nico, Kovacic, Gundogan, De Bruyne, McAtee, Marmoush
Subs: Ortega, Grealish, Doku, Bernardo, Reis, Savinho, Nunes, Khusanov, Bobb
Stand by...
11:10 , Matt VerriAll the team news from Manchester coming up in the next five minutes or so.
Will the likes of Kevin De Bruyne and Phil Foden keep their places in the starting lineup?
We’re going to find out very shortly...
Glasner: Crystal Palace turning up to win
11:01 , Matt VerriCrystal Palace have the chance to make history this afternoon.
If they avoid defeat, it will be 11 matches unbeaten away from home in the Premier League, a club record.
Asked about that, Oliver Glasner said: “It’s not just the away form, but the whole form - all of the performances, the results, over the last few months have given us confidence.
“We have a huge respect for Man City, because they're a great team, they have maybe the best manager in the last decade in the Premier League.
“But we're going there with confidence and our approach is not to go home unbeaten. Our approach is to win the game. If at the end it's a draw, we accept the draw, but we go there and want to win the game.”
Guardiola: Foden and Grealish don't feel good after incidents
10:49 , Matt VerriPep Guardiola has revealed Jack Grealish and Phil Foden "don't feel good" following incidents involving fans in last week's Manchester derby.
Grealish was allegedly slapped by a supporter as he left the field following Manchester City's 0-0 draw with rivals United at Old Trafford on Sunday. A man was later charged with assault, police said.
That came after Grealish's City team-mate Foden was subjected to offensive chants about his mother during the game and when he was substituted in the second half.
Guardiola said on Friday: "They don't feel good but we move forward.
"It is happening everywhere. It's a crazy world, right? Everything happens all around the world, not just in sport - issues. Nobody is away from that.
"It's not about United, of course, because United are beyond that person. They don't defend what United is.
"I know it's happened sometimes in our club but it's not a problem about a specific club, or specific department in world football. It happens everywhere.
"If you take a look around you will realise we are not in the right path.”
Stage is set!
10:42 , Matt VerriIt’s a glorious morning in Manchester...
The Etihad. Today's stage 🎭#CPFC // #MCICRY pic.twitter.com/fdgox44R8B
— Crystal Palace F.C. (@CPFC) April 12, 2025
Standard Sport prediction
10:33 , Matt VerriCrystal Palace may be heading to the Etihad with a patched-up defence, which will have a significant impact on the result. Even a disjointed attack, which City have been guilty of this season, will be relishing facing a backline missing Marc Guehi and, potentially, Maxence Lacroix.
But Palace’s attack will also be licking their lips at the prospect of facing a City defence which has on averaged conceded more than a goal a game - a far cry from seasons past.
Man City to win, 3-1.
Crystal Palace team news
10:26 , Matt VerriCrystal Palace are facing a possible centre-back crisis with Marc Guehi suspended and Maxence Lacroix potentially ruled out with a concussion. Fellow defender Chris Richards is approaching a return after injury, so may come in.
The win over Brighton has come at a significant cost with Eddie Nketiah also sent off and, therefore, banned.
Man City team news
10:17 , Matt VerriManchester City are still without three defenders for Crystal Palace’s visit.
John Stones suffered a thigh injury in February and has been out since, with his return not believed to be imminent, while Nathan Ake underwent surgery on a fracture in his left foot last month.
Manuel Akanji, meanwhile, needed surgery on an abductor injury in February, and like Stones is not expected to return until late April at the earliest.
Matheus Nunes is expected to continue at right-back, while Nico O'Reilly has impressed on the left in recent matches and could keep his place.
With City having had a free week after their draw with Manchester United last Sunday, Kevin De Bruyne should be able to start again, while Omar Marmoush is set to continue leading the line with Erling Haaland injured.
Savinho is an option to come into the side if changes are made.
Predicted Man City XI: Ederson; Nunes, Dias, Gvardiol, O’Reilly; Kovacic, Gundogan; Savinho, De Bruyne, Doku; Marmoush
How to watch Man City vs Crystal Palace
10:07 , Matt VerriTV channel: In the UK, the game will be televised live on TNT Sports. Kick-off is at 12:30pm BST.
Live stream: Fans can catch the contest live online via the Discovery+ app and website.
Live blog: You can follow all the action right here with us!
Good morning!
10:00 , Matt VerriHello and welcome to Standard Sport’s LIVE coverage of Man City vs Crystal Palace!
It’s the lunchtime kick-off to start another weekend of Premier League football, and it’s not an easy match to call.
City of course the favourites, but Palace have been in superb form recently and will arrive in Manchester with no fear.
We’ll have all the latest updates, build-up and team news ahead of kick-off, which comes at 12:30pm BST from the Etihad Stadium.
