Crystal Palace vs. Manchester City: Winners and Losers from Premier League Game
Manchester City left Selhurst Park with three points on Saturday thanks to a late strike from an unlikely hero.
Eighteen-year-old Kelechi Iheanacho pounced on a rebound created by a Samir Nasri shot to score his first-ever Premier League goal for the Citizens.
Thanks to the youngster's late heroics, City's perfect start to the season remained intact. Manuel Pellegrini's side have 15 points through five games and have yet to concede a goal.
The final result was harsh on Palace, who defended well for most of the match and received a strong performance in goal from Alex McCarthy. The loss combined with Arsenal's win over Stoke City dropped the Eagles to third in the league table.
Here's a look at our winners and losers from City's road triumph at Selhurst Park.
Winner: Kelechi Iheanacho
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Kelechi Iheanacho's first touch of the game was the most important one of the match made by any Manchester City player.
The 18-year-old forward, who entered for Wilfried Bony in the 89th minute, was in the right place in front of goal as the rebound from Samir Nasri's shot trickled out of Alex McCarthy's reach.
With no defenders closely marking him, Iheanacho tapped in the game-winner with little difficulty. The goal was a welcome contribution from the Manchester City forward corps that took a major blow in the first half when Sergio Aguero left the match with an injury.
Iheanacho may not feature right away in the squad even with Aguero out, but he should get more chances to thrive off the bench after netting the first strike of his career on Saturday.
"I said to myself, 'if I go in I will do what he asked me'. I scored a great goal so I am really happy," Iheanacho said, per the Premier League's official Twitter account.
Loser: Brede Hangeland
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Brede Hangeland was one of three Palace players rooted in the box as Nasri took his shot from the right wing in the 90th minute.
Because he expected McCarthy to come up with a clean save like he had done on a few occasions throughout the contest, Hangeland remained flat-footed on the right side of the box even though Iheanacho was lurking behind him.
When McCarthy let the ball go following Nasri's shot, Hangeland was forced to be reactive instead of proactive. By the time the center back tried to catch up with Iheanacho, the striker had already slammed the ball into the back of the net.
Hangeland was also the weaker of the two Palace center backs during his 90-minute shift as he was bossed around a bit by the physical play of Bony.
Although Palace have enjoyed a dream start to the season, Hangeland showed on Saturday that there are some cracks waiting to be exploited in the back line.
Winner: Joe Hart
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Joe Hart only made two saves on Saturday, and his second denial helped keep City level with Palace at a crucial juncture in the match.
In the 70th minute, Hart leaped to his left and stopped a header from Jason Puncheon with both hands. Had he not reached the shot from the Palace player, the home side would've grabbed hold of the momentum and City's perfect start would've been in grave danger.
Hart did stay involved for the rest of the match, but he was not threatened much by the Palace attack outside of Puncheon's second-half opportunity.
Hart's lack of production is a good sign for City's defense as they were able to silence the dangerous Palace attackers after a rough first 10 minutes. The England international's saves also proved he is able to stay focused between the posts despite experiencing a slow day.
Loser: Jesus Navas
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Jesus Navas was handed an opportunity to impress on the wing for the second consecutive league match by Manuel Pellegrini, but once again the Spaniard came up short in his quest to earn more playing time.
With David Silva and Raheem Sterling out of the 18, Pellegrini asked Navas to provide pace and create chances on the wing alongside Samir Nasri.
While Navas did look dangerous on a few occasions, he wasn't good enough during the entire match to make a case to the manager for playing time when the regular starters return.
Navas' most humiliating moment of the match came in the 51st minute, as he comically blew a great move forward on the counter created by Kevin De Bruyne. Navas split a pair of defenders, but he failed to slow down, lost his balance and rammed his shot into the back of the side netting.
The good news for Navas, if there is any right now, is he will see some playing time given City's large number of matches. But we can't see him contributing much from the start in big games moving forward.
Winner/Loser: Alex McCarthy
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Alex McCarthy's blunder that led to Iheanacho's game-winning goal was a poor representation of his overall performance in the Palace net.
McCarthy made six saves to keep Palace in the match against a City side that was knocking on the door with their strong build-up for most of the 90 minutes.
The 25-year-old's top save came in the 32nd minute from close range on Bony, who combined with Nasri to open space in front of the net.
"You get so far in a game. A real battle of two good sides and to concede in the last minute is tough," Palace boss Alan Pardew said, per the team's official Twitter account.
Despite letting in a late goal, McCarthy should head into Palace's next match with plenty of confidence after his outing against City.
Loser: Sergio Aguero
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The biggest loser from Saturday's proceedings at Selhurst Park has to be Sergio Aguero.
In the 17th minute, Aguero was surging down the left wing when Scott Dann slid in and clipped him with a high boot. The Argentinian received a good amount of treatment and tried to continue up top for City.
Unfortunately for Aguero, he signaled for a substitution in the 25th minute and made way for debutant Kevin De Bruyne. The change also switched up City's formation from a 4-4-2 to a 4-2-3-1, which left Bony isolated by himself during a few long stretches.
The big concern regarding Aguero is how bad the knock is. If he is unable to play against Juventus in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday, City will only have Bony and Iheanacho available as healthy forwards.
Until Aguero returns to full health, City will have to rely more on their creative midfielders to score in support of Bony, who will most likely feature as a lone striker in Pellegrini's formation.
Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.
