Pundit shares what he noticed before Man City conceded Palace equaliser
Manchester City dropped points once again in the Premier League yesterday, drawing 2-2 with Crystal Palace.
Pep Guardiola’s side let slip a two-goal lead at the Etihad Stadium, which is something you don’t see very often at all.
City looked in complete control going into the final 20 minutes or so, but some poor defending allowed the visitors to pull a goal back through Jean-Philippe Mateta.
Then in injury time, Michael Olise converted from the penalty spot after some more poor defending which likely would have enraged Pep Guardiola.
It was a hugely frustrating result – but pundit Frank Leboeuf noticed something in the build up to the Palace equaliser…
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Yesterday’s game was dissected on ESPN FC, and there was some talk about what happened in the lead-up to the Palace equaliser.
Bernardo Silva had the opportunity to clear his lines on the right side, but hung on to the ball and was dispossessed by Mateta.
The striker was eventually hacked down by Phil Foden for a stonewall penalty.
In the eyes of Leboeuf, the way Mateta took the ball from Bernardo was questionable. He said: “Isn’t it a foul on Bernardo Silva on the penalty Crystal Palace got? I mean, am I the only one who saw that or is that something I just invented?”
After the game, Pep Guardiola did not make reference to Mateta’s challenge on Bernardo.
The Spaniard merely accepted that Foden’s challenge on Mateta was a penalty.
It would have been harsh on Palace
Maybe there is an argument that Mateta’s pull on the arm resulted in Silva losing his balance.
Perhaps other referees might have given a foul there, but realistically it would have been harsh to blow for that, as the contact was very minimal.
Ultimately, City have just got to improve defensively.
It is remarkable that Pep’s side only came away with a point yesterday having looked so comfortable in the game. To throw it away as they did was very concerning.
