EPL: Man City Close Gap on Arsenal with Win Over Palace

Man City Vs Crystal Palace, City keep title hopes alive  

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Manchester City beat Crystal Palace 3-0 at the Etihad to cut Arsenal’s lead to two points. Goals from Semenyo, Marmoush, and Savinho keep the title race alive.

Relive Man City’s win over Crystal Palace with goals from Semenyo, Marmoush, and Savinho...

Manchester City kept their slim Premier League title hopes alive with a 3-0 victory over Crystal Palace. Even with several changes made ahead of the FA Cup final, Pep Guardiola’s side stretched their unbeaten home run to 17 matches and cut Arsenal’s lead to two points with two games remaining.

The hosts were nearly caught out early when Brennan Johnson slipped in behind and pulled the ball back for Jean-Philippe Mateta to shoot. Gianluigi Donnarumma reacted sharply to keep it out, though Mateta’s gesture toward his watch for a goal-line check would only have mattered if the delayed offside flag hadn’t gone up against him on the original pass.

City weren’t bailed out by an offside flag a short while later. Instead, it was Josko Gvardiol who came to the rescue, getting in position to block Yeremy Pino’s shot and turn it behind.

As expected, Pep Guardiola’s side had most of the ball, but clear chances were scarce as the first half progressed.

That changed just after the half-hour mark. Phil Foden injected some pace with a neat backheel that played in Antoine Semenyo, who slotted past Dean Henderson to open the scoring.

The goal loosened things up, and City made it 2-0 before half-time. This time it was Omar Marmoush who benefited from another Foden assist.

By then Palace were hanging on. Henderson had to produce a good save to deny Gvardiol and stop City making it three.

It was much the same after the break. Manchester City didn’t need to push hard, leaving it to Oliver Glasner to bring on his key substitutes.

  

Erling Haaland remained on the bench for City throughout the 90 minutes. Palace, meanwhile, introduced Adam Wharton, Jorgen Strand Larsen, and Ismaila Sarr, with Sarr quickly forcing Donnarumma into action. Despite their introduction, the trio couldn’t shift the momentum of the game.

Man City keep the pressure on Arsenal ✅ pic.twitter.com/iJtCziBFhn

— Premier League (@premierleague) May 13, 2026

Savinho put the result beyond doubt in the 84th minute, finishing off a well-weighted pass from substitute Rayan Cherki.

Crystal Palace have managed just one victory in their last seven Premier League matches, and their focus has now shifted to the UEFA Conference League final against Rayo Vallecano.

Manchester City’s immediate focus is the FA Cup final against Chelsea, but they’re still keeping an eye on the league title race. This win puts them in a strong position to take advantage if Arsenal slip up, thanks to their superior goal difference.