At 22:00 Beijing time on October 30, the 10th round of the 2021-22 Premier League season ushered in a focus battle: defending champions Manchester City hosted Crystal Palace.
In the first 9 rounds, Manchester City accumulated 20 points from 6 wins, 2 draws and 1 loss, ranking third in the Premier League table, 2 points less than Chelsea at the top of the table, 1 point less than the second place Liverpool, and the gap between the top two of the table is less than a goal, it can be said that they still have the initiative to compete for the title.
Crystal Palace is in the middle and lower reaches of the Premier League, belonging to the relegation team level, the first nine rounds of 1 win, 6 draws, 2 losses and 9 points, temporarily ranked 15th in the Premier League table, only 5 points higher than Burnley, who is 18th in the relegation zone.
City's overall strength is far stronger than Crystal Palace, with 13 unbeaten games in their last 14 games against Crystal Palace. City have also been in excellent form recently, keeping clean sheets in their last five games.
In the campaign, the starting lineup of Manchester City at home is 433, Foden forms a forward trident with Glaliche and Jesus, three midfielders Bernardo Silva, Rodri and De Bruyne, double centre-backs Laporte and Ruben Díaz, two full-backs Canceló and Walker, and goalkeeper Ederson. With a combined value of €730 million, this starting eleven-man squad is arguably the strongest guard Guardiola can currently send.
Crystal Palace also started in 433, with Zaha forming a forward trident with Eduardo and Jordan Ayew.
Shortly after the start, Manchester City, playing at home, fell behind! In the 6th minute, Laporte made a mistake at the back and was cut off by Gallagher and passed to Zaha, who burst into the box and shot low. Crystal Palace led Manchester City 1-0.
In the 17th minute, Rodri fired a direct shot at the ball in the penalty area and was confiscated by the goalkeeper.
In the 42nd minute, De Bruyne fell to the ground in the penalty area, but the referee did not show any indication.
In first-half stoppage time, City suffered a crushing blow, la Portela reversed the brake valve, and was directly sent off with a red card.
In the 48th minute, Rodri received a pass from Glarish in the penalty area and directly hit the goal.
In the 58th minute, Gralis went straight and Jesus' favourite was deflected by the goalkeeper.
In the 60th minute, Stones passed a long pass, Foden took the ball to the back point, Jesus followed up with a shot, but VAR suggested that Foden was offside and the goal was invalid.
In the 68th minute, Foden picked out a pass from the left and Jesus' header went high over the bar.
In the 88th minute, Crystal Palace counter-attacked, Oris carried the ball all the way to the front of the box, then passed to Zaha, Zaha passed to Oris, and finally Orris assisted Gallagher to score, Crystal Palace led Manchester City 2:0.
With little time left, City were powerless to return to the sky, and finally upset the home 0:2 loss to Crystal Palace, eating the second defeat of the season, and Crystal Palace won the second win of the season. In the other two matches played at the same time, Liverpool were forced to draw 2-2 at home by Brighton and Chelsea beat Newcastle 3-0 away. Manchester City still has 20 points in 10 wins, 6 wins, 2 draws and 2 defeats, which is 5 points behind Chelsea at the top of the table, and the prospects for defending the title are not optimistic.