Player Ratings: Palace vs Manchester City

Dean Henderson – 7
No chance with either of Manchester City’s goals, but this was still an evening that underlined his class. Denied Anderson brilliantly early on, then stood up well to further efforts from Semenyo and Cherki. Kept Palace in it for long spells.

Jaydee Convot – 6
Steady, unfussy, rarely out of position. The problem for Palace came higher up the pitch, where Cherki simply took the game away from them. Convot was not the one with the answers.

Chris Richards – 6
Threw himself into the contest with Haaland and never hid, but there was only going to be one winner in that duel. Should have changed the story with a first-half header that he planted off target.

Takehiro Tomiyasu – 6
Exactly what Palace thought they were getting: calm, reliable, experienced. Read the game well and picked his moments to step in, but could not stem the tide once City turned up the tempo.

Anan Khalaili – 6
All running, all willingness, and plenty of pressing. The problem came when it mattered most. The final ball and decision-making deserted him in promising positions.

Daichi Kamada – 5
Busy, always on the move, always showing. Yet the game seemed to pass him by when Palace needed someone to grip midfield. Found it hard to dictate against City’s carousel of possession.

Adam Wharton – 7
The class in Palace’s engine room. Showed composure beyond his years, saw passes others didn’t, and kept trying to knit things together with a superb range of distribution. As City tightened their grip, even he was eventually swamped.

Tyrick Mitchell – 6
Tenacious, sharp across the ground, and aggressive in the duels. Then came the moment he will replay in his mind: a big first-half header that should have levelled the game but didn’t hit the target.

Eddie Nketiah – 5
Started like a man on a mission, stinging Donnarumma’s palms and stretching City’s back line. After the break, his influence dropped sharply. Spurned a huge chance early in the second half that could have flipped the momentum.

Yeremy Pino – 6
Frustrating at times, electric at others. That duality was summed up by his set-piece: a wicked free-kick that forced the error from Donnarumma and went down as an own goal. Always a threat, not always tidy.

Jorgen Strand Larsen – 5
Worked himself into the ground, chasing and battling, but was second best in the physical contest with Dias. One clear opening fell his way before the interval; he failed to take it and Palace never got a better one.

Subs

• Guessand (on 63, Strand Larsen) – Added fresh legs but little change in the pattern.
• Gozo (on 68, Pino) – Tried to inject energy on the flank without much end product.
• McNeil (on 68, Nketiah) – Dropped in to link play, saw little of the ball in dangerous areas.
• Disasi (on 74, Tomiyasu) – Offered height and strength as Palace chased, rarely tested defensively.
• Mingueza (on 74, Khalaili) – Slotted in and kept things simple with the game already slipping away.