Crystal Palace once again act as party poopers to dent title hopes

Crystal Palace 0-0 Manchester City: Leaders fail to restore six-point  advantage
City left south London frustrated after failing to capitalise on chances

Manchester City were held to a goalless draw thanks to a battling performance from Patrick Vieira’s Crystal Palace last night. The draw leaves Pep Guardiola’s men just four points above the in-form Liverpool, who could close the gap to just a single point on Wednesday. That won’t be easy though against a similarly in-form Arsenal, who have established a firm grip over fourth place.

Crystal Palace up to their old tricks again

They have done it before, they may have done it again. Palace have developed a reputation of ruining title chasing teams’ ambitions, and they landed a significant blow yesterday again. Most famous of their antics came in 2014, when they fought from 3-0 down to draw 3-3 against Liverpool that effectively ended their title charge. The next year, they inflicted a 2-1 defeat to Man City, that left them well behind Chelsea.

Now with this stalemate, and not to mention the brilliant 2-0 win at the Etihad earlier, Palace have lived up to their reputation this season. Whether it proves to be a significant result, time will tell.

Title race blown wide apart

Jurgen Klopp and a controversial press conference after Liverpool vs Porto  | Marca
Jurgen Klopp knows he has a realistic chance of lifting the Premier League

As already mentioned, the gap between City and Liverpool could be down to one point by Thursday. If that happens, the title race is well and truly back on. It will also bring the April’s meeting between the two to a sharper relief. That match may well be a title decider, like a Premier League final. The pressure is back on Man City now after an underwhelming few weeks.

Both Liverpool and City have been setting the standards for the past few years. So it is no surprise to see them separate from the pack and make the title race their own. They have been the teams to beat for the past few years. They have pushed each other to the very limits on their way to setting unimaginable records over that time.

This title race could go down to the wire, much like the 2018/19 season, where both teams just kept winning. It was decided on the final day of the season, despite City winning 13 successive matches. That’s what it takes to finish above Liverpool, and that is exactly what it might take this season too.

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