Man City 5-0 Crystal Palace player ratings: 9/10 playmaker dazzles, defensive duo take plaudits

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Man City strolled to a convincing 5-0 win over Crystal Palace at the Etihad on Saturday to stay on course to qualify for the Champions League.

Pep Guardiola’s men are in a real scrap for a top four finish this season, and the win this weekend would have put all the pressure on their rivals to respond.

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Goals from David Silva, Vincent Kompany, Kevin De Bruyne, Raheem Sterling and Nicolas Otamendi secured the victory, as Palace left Manchester empty-handed and still looking over their shoulder in the relegation battle.

While it looked as though ‘Big Sam’ had gotten them out of trouble, there will be a few anxious looks ahead of the rest of the weekend’s fixtures as a win for the likes of Swansea City and Hull City could put them in a real trouble.

Nevertheless, the positives for City included a healthy scoreline, a clean sheet and all-round impressive display to get the job done and with that win, they temporarily move above Liverpool into third place and open up a four-point gap over fifth-placed Manchester United.

Silva was the stand-out performer for many as he pulled the strings in midfield and got himself a goal, while it’s hard not to be impressed with the entire City attacking force and particularly the centre-half pairing who both looked solid at the back and grabbed a goal apiece to cap off a successful day for the hosts.

Manchester City player ratings: Caballero 7; Fernandinho 7, Otamendi 8, Kompany 8, Clichy 7; Toure 8, Sterling 6, De Bruyne 8, Silva 9, Sane 8; Jesus 7.

Substitutes: Zabaleta 7, Iheanacho N/A.

Crystal Palace player ratings: Hennessey 6; Ward 5, Kelly 4, Schlupp 5, Aanholt 6; McArthur 5; Milivojevic 6, Puncheon 4; Townsend 6, Benteke 5, Zaha 6.

Substitutes: Lee 5, Flamini 5, Delaney 5.

More Stories David Silva Kevin De Bruyne Nicolas Otamendi Raheem Sterling Vincent Kompany