Manchester City needed a second-half penalty from striker Erling Haaland to overcome tenacious Crystal Palace and win 1-0 at Selhurst Park in the Premier League on Saturday.
The victory moved City to 61 points after 27 games, two points behind leaders Arsenal, who play Fulham on Sunday, and 12 points ahead of third-placed Manchester United.
The visitors made a quick start, with midfielder Rodri clipping a powerful third-minute volley straight at keeper Vicente Guaita and Jack Grealish pulling a shot just wide, but with the home side packing their defence, City found it difficult to break them down.
As his team dominated possession, Haaland smashed a shot from a very tight angle goalwards just before the half-hour mark and then blasted the rebound wide.
When Jack Grealish was fouled on the edge of the box early in the second half, Guaita made a fantastic diving save to keep Phil Foden’s free kick out.
On the hour mark, City went even closer when substitute Julian Alvarez turned superbly on the edge of the box after receiving the ball from Bernardo Silva, but he blasted his shot over the bar with the goal at his mercy.
With Palace occasionally stringing six defenders across the back and using their forwards to clog the middle, Haaland was repeatedly crowded out, and City had to constantly recycle the ball as they sought space to play.
City’s breakthrough came when captain Ilkay Gundogan was upended in the box after a clumsy late challenge by Michael Olise.
In the 78th minute, Haaland stepped up and smashed home the spot kick low to the keeper’s left for his 28th league goal of the season and 34th in all competitions.
After Palace failed to register a shot on target for the third Premier League game in a row, an animated Haaland went to celebrate with the travelling fans at the final whistle after a frustrating evening finally paid off.
“It’s fine; we have to play in different ways. People adjust to us as a team and our style of play because we’ve won four Premier League titles in the last five years “Haaland told Sky Sports.
“What can I do? I can’t control what they do; all we can do is try to do our best and perform “He continued.
After an electric start to the season, the 22-year-old Norwegian has had to work harder to get on the end of chances as teams have done a better job of closing him down, but he is relishing the challenge.
“It’s England, and this is what I’ve grown up watching. I enjoy every second of it. It’s great to be in the thick of things “he stated.
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