Crystal Palace vs. Manchester City: Score and Reaction from 2017 FA Cup
Manchester City strolled to victory in the fourth round of the 2017 FA Cup, winning 3-0 at Crystal Palace on Saturday.
Raheem Sterling opened the scoring in the first half, with Leroy Sane and Yaya Toure making sure of the win as City controlled the tempo at Selhurst Park.
Palace were once again poor, and their season is collapsing as they fail to move through the gears under new management.
Palace manager Sam Allardyce drafted in Martin Kelly, Mathieu Flamini, Joe Ledley, Jordon Mutch and Andros Townsend to start the match, as the hosts rotated their options.
City boss Pep Guardiola selected Vincent Kompany to start, with Nicolas Otamendi, Claudio Bravo, Pablo Zabaleta, Kevin De Bruyne and Sergio Aguero all missing from the Spaniard's starting selection.
City's official Twitter feed shared full details of their side:
The visitors were aggressive from the kick-off, dominating Palace as they hunted an opening strike.
However, the hosts almost took a shock lead through James Tomkins, but Sky Blues goalkeeper Willy Caballero was equal to the attempt.
The Independent's Jack Pitt-Brooke praised the Argentinian's selection by Guardiola:
Palace forged spontaneous attacks, but it was City who appeared the more likely to score, and they finally took their chance moments before the half-time whistle.
New signing Gabriel Jesus was pivotal in the move, setting up England international Sterling for the opener.
Sam Lee of Goal called the action:
Squawka Football highlighted Jesus' immediate contribution:
Christian Benteke was replaced by Loic Remy during the interval as Allardyce attempted to inject a fresh dynamic into his attack.
However, Guardiola's side remained comfortable and in control and nearly doubled their lead on the hour mark. Bacary Sagna went close with a header from a corner, but the French defender missed the target as he attacked the ball.
The visitors doubled their lead with 19 minutes remaining, as David Silva's expert pass found Sane. The young German confidently fired the ball home to crush Palace's hopes.
Stuart Brennan of the Manchester Evening News described City's clinical move:
Allardyce once again shuffled the pack as he attempted to find the tactics to break his opponents, but Guardiola was cool and calm in the technical area as he relayed his thoughts. City kept the ball with ease, restricting Palace's attempt to play a longer style.
Palace were well-beaten long before the final whistle, and Allardyce was clearly disappointed as he looked on from the dugout.
Yaya put the cherry on the cake in the 92nd minute, scoring a wonderful free-kick as the crowds left the stadium in the final seconds of action in south London.
City were convincing as they knocked out their Premier League opponents, and the FA Cup could offer the club solace as the campaign progresses.
Post-Match Reaction
Guardiola was delighted after his team skipped past Palace in the cup, and expressed his satisfaction at making the fifth round of the competition, per the club's official website:
"We’re in the next round which we are pleased about.
The cup is always complicated in a way because we started well but then had a difficult 15 minutes until we scored the first goal.
We didn’t take some of our early chances but that’s been happening all season. The important thing is we created a lot of chances, did score three goals and also kept a clean sheet.
While it’s good to have a clean sheet because of the goals we’ve conceded lately, it is also important to score goals, which we did.
"
The draw for the next phase is set to take place at 7:20 p.m. on Monday, Jan 30. on BBC One.
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