Four things we learnt from Man City's 4-2 win over Crystal Palace
(Photo by Eddie Keogh/Getty Images)

Manchester City beat Crystal Palace 4-2 to continue their charge for yet another Premier League title.

The reigning champions did not make it easy for themselves in the first half as they went behind, only three minutes in. 

They managed to pull one back and go into the half-time break level, and switched up a gear in the second half, scoring three more goals and brushing the home team aside. 

Manchester City overtake Arsenal into second place, having played an extra game than them and Liverpool. They are on level points with The Reds (70) but are behind them by a two-goal difference.

Here are four things we learned from Saturday's 12:30 pm Kick-off.

  • Manchester City's high-line leaking goals

Ever since Pep Guardiola took charge of Manchester City they have been known to dominate games, score lots of goals, and stop the opposition from creating much but it only took three minutes for the home side to unlock their defence and score. A total of four passes were made to put Mateta through on goal after a sloppy pass gave Crystal Palace possession.

They then lacked concentration in the last five minutes of the game as Odsonne Edouard got his team a second goal but it was only a consolation finish as they were 4-1 down already.

Last season, the Citizens managed to keep 13 clean sheets. However, this season they have kept nine with seven games remaining, so it is still mathematically possible for them to match or beat that but to do so would be very difficult.

  • Jean-Philippe Mateta in fine form

The French striker opened the scoring in today's game with a tidy one-on-one finish against Stefan Ortega, which was helped in by the post.

He has seven goals and four assists in 27 league appearances this season, a huge improvement from last year as he only managed two goals and zero assists in 29 games. 

The 26-year-old has been rewarded for his performances as he has started in Crystal Palace's last 15 matches. Before that, he had only started two games all season.

He joined them on loan in January 2021 from German side FSV Mainz 05 and was then bought permanently for £11M after the loan expired.

  • Kevin De Bruyne should never be benched

The captain was benched against Aston Villa and he only managed one assist and zero goals in his previous six matches. However, he stepped up for his team when they needed him most and brought his team back into the game with a stunning whipped shot from the left-hand side of the box, that hit the top corner at speed.

The Belgian finished the game with Player of the match after getting a second goal with the outside of his boot just inside the box, making it his 100th goal for Man City. He also provided an assist for Erling Haaland's goal.

That is now three goals and six assists in 11 appearances this season for the veteran.

  • Erling Haaland back to scoring ways

There is no doubt about the quality that the Norwegian brings as he has lit up the Premier League since his arrival but has faced some criticism in the last couple of games he has played in.

The 23-year-old struggled to make an impact in either of the big matches against title rivals, Liverpool and Arsenal and even had Roy Keane label him as a 'League Two' player.

Haaland was then benched against Aston Villa but put back in for today's match and showed that he still has it as he got Manchester City's third goal. 

Due to the standards he has set for himself, a three-game goal drought is deemed as poor form but he has put that to bed today and got his 19th of the season with Cole Palmer, Mohammed Salah, Dominic Solanke, and Ollie Watkins all chasing the golden boot award with 16 goals.