Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola admits he knew Crystal Palace would be a tough matchup after losing 2-0 at the Etihad Stadium.
Crystal Palace shocked the Etihad stadium by netting 2 goals past Man City in a convincing victory against the reigning Premier League champions. Wilfried Zaha scored early on to give the visitors an early lead, and Conor Gallagher sealed off the game later on. Notably, Aymeric Laporte was sent off on the brink of halftime—handicapping City to only 10 men for the entire second half.
This defeat marks Man City's first home defeat and second overall this season. City loses the opportunity to take the lead in the table this weekend and remain third behind Thomas Tuchel's in-form Chelsea squad and Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool. Guardiola notes that he came into the match knowing that Palace would be a tough matchup—especially coming off of their stellar performances against Brighton and Arsenal.
Via ESPN:
“They have good players. I knew it would be a real tough game,” Guardiola said. “I saw the Brighton and Arsenal games. I knew how difficult they would be. They showed it today.”
The Man City boss also commented on Laporte's red card challenge on Zaha—The Spanish defender dragged down Zaha on a clear goal-scoring opportunity.
“Could be yellow card, could be red it depends on the decision of the boss, the referee.. unfortunately today, many, many things went wrong and we lost the game.”
Man City will look to bounce back and take full advantage of Manchester United's managerial struggles as they square off at Old Trafford for the famous Manchester Derby. Laporte will be ruled out for the match due to the red card he incurred on Saturday.
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