Player Ratings: Palace vs Manchester City

Dean Henderson – 7
No blame for either of Manchester City’s goals. Stood tall when Palace needed him, springing left to deny Anderson early on and backing it up with sharp stops from Semenyo and Cherki. The scoreline would have looked far uglier without him.

Jaydee Convot – 6
Kept things tidy on his flank and rarely lost his individual duels, but once Cherki found his rhythm, Palace’s right side started to creak. Couldn’t stem the tide on his own.

Chris Richards – 6
Threw himself into the contest with Haaland and never shirked a challenge, yet the Norwegian dominated the key moments. Should have buried a first-half header that might have changed the feel of the night.

Takehiro Tomiyasu – 6
Brought calm and experience to a back line under constant stress. Read the game well and made few obvious errors, but City’s movement eventually dragged Palace out of shape.

Anan Khalaili – 6
Full of running, pressed aggressively and tried to knit attacks together. The effort was there, the end product wasn’t. Promising energy, lacking a final pass or finish.

Daichi Kamada – 5
Buzzed around midfield and never stopped showing for the ball, yet struggled to put his stamp on proceedings. City’s control in the middle squeezed the space he thrives on.

Adam Wharton – 7
Palace’s standout outfield player. Composed on the ball, saw passes others didn’t and kept trying to set the tempo with his range of distribution. For long spells he held his own, but as City turned the screw he, like the rest, was eventually overrun.

Tyrick Mitchell – 6
Snapped into tackles and used his pace well in recovery. Got forward when he could and found himself with a golden first-half chance, only to head wide when he had to hit the target.

Eddie Nketiah – 5
Started brightly, stinging Donnarumma’s palms and stretching the defence with his movement. After the break he faded badly and squandered a huge opening early in the second half that Palace simply had to take.

Yeremy Pino – 6
Frustrating at times, dangerous at others. Drifted in and out of the game but reminded everyone of his threat with a superbly struck free-kick that went in off Donnarumma and gave Palace brief hope.

Jorgen Strand Larsen – 5
Worked the channels and battled, yet rarely got the better of Dias. When the big chance came in the first half, he couldn’t convert, and his night never really recovered from that miss.

Subs

• Guessand (on 63, Strand Larsen) – Injected fresh legs up front but saw little service.
• Gozo (on 68, Pino) – Tried to carry the ball forward, without finding a decisive moment.
• McNeil (on 68, Nketiah) – Offered industry on the flank, struggled to influence the final third.
• Disasi (on 74, Tomiyasu) – Added aerial presence as Palace chased the game.
• Mingueza (on 74, Khalaili) – Slotted in late, mainly firefighting as City saw the result out.