Manchester City run riot against Crystal Palace

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Manchester City blew away the Eagles at the Etihad Stadium to take one step closer to securing their top four finish. City scored 5 goals against Big Sam’s Crystal Palace to make a statement of authority. And there was one man who influenced the match like no other, his name is David Silva.

Manchester City run riot:

Manchester City set up a bouquet of goals to celebrate their win against Crystal Palace. The first goal was scored by David Silva, who has just returned from injury. The second of the match came via Vicent Kompany who took a delightful shot from the edge of the box. He curled the ball into the top right-hand corner of the net. And the Palace goalkeeper was just beaten by the sheer pace on the ball.

The third goal was scored by Kevin De Bruyne who took a great low-lying shot to beat the goalkeeper. But the goal was set-up by Jesus who did some great work to tee up De Bruyne.

Sterling scored the fourth goal of the night as he was found ample space in front of the goal to thump the ball into the back of the net. The fifth of the match came deep into injury time in the second half. This time it was Otamendi who found the back of the net with a well placed low-lying header.

De Bruyne scored the third goal for City and was brilliant on the night.

The ‘Silva Lining’:

David Silva wrote his name all over the match as he came up with a match-winning performance. Not many players can boast of such a huge impact on a match during the current season. From the moment he stepped onto the pitch he was virtually the pilot who was in charge of Manchester City. He scored the first goal of the match within the first two minutes.

Silva was in perfect sync with both Sane and Sterling who were entitled with wingmen duties. Silva made a series of cutting edge passes and through balls that literally left Crystal Palace with twisted ankles. He was withdrawn in the 67th minute of the match. The fans were a bit disappointed with his withdrawal as they definitely wanted to see more of him. But having just come back from an injury, Guardiola did not want to take the risk of overplaying the Spaniard.

Champions League here they come:

Such an emphatic win has brought about a lot of positives for Pep Guardiola. Not only has he moved one step closer to Champions League football. But his team may very well finish third at the end of the season, owing to a superior goal difference. Finishing third will mean City will be saved from playing the qualification round and will move straight to the group stages.