The right-back had a torrid afternoon and played a part in both of Palace's goals in a disappointing 2-2 draw for the Premier League champions
It never rains but it pours. As Storm Darragh battered the country, Pep Guardiola made a beeline to berate the match officials after watching his Manchester City side drop more points in what is becoming an increasingly futile defence of their Premier League title.
A controversial red card for Rico Lewis was at the centre of the Spaniard's post-match frustrations – the City defender somewhat unfortunate to be given a second yellow in an incident that saw his foot stamped on by Trevoh Chalobah as he frantically flew into a challenge.
Palace unsettled City from the off and took a surprise early lead as they capitalised on their opponents' pathetic attempts to play the offside trap. Kyle Walker and Lewis were both at fault as Will Hughes released Daniel Munoz in surprisingly acres of space, with the Colombian allowed to advance forward and smash home a low shot that was too hot for Stefan Ortega to handle.
City almost found the equaliser when Ilkay Gundogan struck the post with a measured left-footed volley but Guardiola's men did eventually get back into it on the half-hour mark – Erling Haaland looping a clever header over Dean Henderson and into the top far corner of the net. The Norwegian back amongst the goals in the league for the first time in a month.
Finely poised at the break, it was Palace who edged back in front soon after half-time as Maxence Lacroix got in front of Walker at the far post to head home from a Hughes corner. City weren't going to throw in the towel, though, with Lewis arrowing a shot into the top corner to restore parity after 68 minutes.
The 20-year-old England defender was to make more headlines before full-time – this time, and somewhat harshly, he was sent off as he dived into a challenge on Chalobah. The Palace centre-back, as he well might, making a meal of an incident that ultimately saw him make contact with his opponent, and not the other way round, with VAR unable to intervene.
It ends in more dropped points for City, who will be frustrated that they couldn't capitalise on Liverpool not playing by eating more into the Reds' lead at the summit.
GOAL rates Man City's players from Selhurst Park…
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Stefan Ortega (6/10):
Will feel he should've done better with Munoz's opener but, in his defence, it was struck with venom. Nothing he could do about the second.
Kyle Walker (3/10):
Far too deep as he tried to catch Munoz offside for the first goal and then dominated by Lacroix in the air for Palace's second. Really poor.
Ruben Dias (7/10):
Decent battle with Mateta. Made some crucial blocks to deny Palace and didn't crumble like some of his team-mates around him.
Josko Gvardiol (5/10):
Isn't as comfortable at centre-back and it showed, with Palace exploiting his side of the pitch on numerous occasions.
Rico Lewis (5/10):
Caught out trying to play offside as he let Munoz go for the opening goal and was having a bit of a nightmare, right up until he smacked the ball into the top corner for 2-2. Then sent off for naively lunging in to try to challenge Chalobah when he should've stayed on his feet.
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Ilkay Gundogan (5/10):
Gave away possession in the build-up to Palace's early goal but almost made amends with a stunning volley that struck the post. Tried to get things going in the second half but wasn't really his day.
Bernardo Silva (6/10):
Came into it more in the second half after an anonymous first 45. It was his neat ball through that set-up Lewis for City's second goal.
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Savinho (4/10):
Should've been more clinical with the two or three presentable opportunities he had over the course of his 78 minutes on the pitch. Must do better.
Kevin De Bruyne (6/10):
A couple of loose touches showed that he's still finding his way back to full fitness but City look far more dangerous when he's in the starting XI, with the Belgian linking up well with Haaland. Will be frustrated he couldn't turn the tide in City's favour as he looked the most likely to pick the Palace lock.
Matheus Nunes (6/10):
His in-swinging cross put the ball on Haaland's head for the equaliser but he was pretty quiet, the assist aside.
Erling Haaland (6/10):
Denied by a terrific Henderson save in the opening 10 minutes before diverting a header into the net for his 18th goal of the season. Hardly had a kick in the second half.
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Jeremy Doku (5/10):
Had the chance to win it when put through by De Bruyne but tried to square the ball and wasted it.
Jack Grealish (N/A):
On for the final few minutes as City chased a winner, was too late for him to be able to make a significant impact.
Pep Guardiola (5/10):
Just as it looked like City had turned a corner, another disappointing result haunts Guardiola in this bizarre 2024-25 season of theirs. His bench options were limited but he perhaps could, and should, have made changes sooner, with Grealish only being introduced very late on.
