Advantage Liverpool FC as Man City get ragged at Crystal Palace

Liverpool and Manchester City are in another title stare-down - and it was the Blues who blinked first in a scrappy, nervous, misfiring performance at Crystal Palace. Selhurst Park played a big role in the first of the great trilogy of title contests between the two most modern of rivals, when Palace stormed back from 3-0 down to thwart Liverpool in 2014 and open it up for City to take the honours.

This was nowhere near as deadly a result for the Blues - the point means they will still be top of the table even if Jurgen Klopp’s team pulls off a win when they play their game in hand against in-form Arsenal on Wednesday night. But after the effortless class in the way they disposed of Manchester United last week, it will be the dip in standard that alarms Pep Guardiola most.

There was a slowness to much of City’s build-up that is not like them, and a sloppiness at other times, and when their relentless pressure did result in chances, they were met with a mixture of bad luck - as Joao Cancelo and Kevin De Bruyne both hit the post - and wayward finishing. The City fans who made the long haul trip to south London on another ridiculous Monday night fixture were unusually nervous about this game.

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Maybe it was the memory of the part Palace played in the title race in 2014 when they upset Liverpool’s apple-cart and opened it up for City to sprint over the line. Maybe it was the fact that Liverpool just keep closing that gap, and it was a case of who blinks first will blow the league.

Or maybe it was a memory of just how well Palace exploited City’s vulnerability to counter-attacks, and nullified their attacking advantages, when they won 2-0 at the Etihad Stadium in October. Whatever it was, it