Brutal Pep Guardiola verdict on Man City vs Crystal Palace amid Rico Lewis honesty
These are your evening Manchester City headlines for Saturday, December 16.
Manchester City have put themselves at risk of falling further behind in the Premier League title race after surrendering a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 with Crystal Palace on Saturday.
Rico Lewis netted his maiden top flight goal in the second half but it did not help towards three points thanks to Michael Olise’s 95th-minute penalty for the visitors. He pointed out that City must solely shoulder the responsibility for not getting the win.
Meanwhile, Pep Guardiola was far from happy with his players. The manager delivered a scathing assessment of his side given the position they had initially found themselves in.
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Guardiola blasts careless Man City players
Guardiola blasted his City players for carelessly falling short of the title-winning standards they have set. Goals from Jack Grealish and Rico Lewis gave the Premier League champions a 2-0 advantage at home to Crystal Palace that they retained until the 75th minute.
However, slack defending allowed Jean-Phillipe Mateta to get one back for the understrength Eagles before Phil Foden needlessly gave away a penalty in injury time and Michael Olise stepped up to earn a point.
Guardiola thought his team had played well for most of the game but in a scathing verdict said they did not deserve to win a game if they could not see it out like they have so many times before.
Read what Guardiola said here >>>
‘Down to us’ - Lewis makes honest admission
Lewis says City only have themselves to blame for throwing away a two-goal lead to end up drawing 2-2 with Crystal Palace.
Michael Olise slotted away a 95th-minute spot kick to snatch a point for the Eagles after penalty-winner Jean-Phillippe Mateta had pulled them back into the contest on 76 minutes. Jack Grealish and Lewis had handed City a cushion amid a dominant display from the hosts.
City have now conceded 12 goals in six matches and are winless in three home Premier League games for the first time since 2016. They remain fourth in the table and risk falling further behind in the title race ahead of their trip to Saudi Arabia for the Club World Cup.