Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City were held to a 2-2 draw by Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park
Pep Guardiola claims Manchester City are the worst team in the Premier League at defending set-pieces after the 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace on Saturday.
Palace took the lead twice at Selhurst Park through Daniel Munoz and Maxence Lacroix but goals from Erling Haaland and Rico Lewis secured a point for City.
Guardiola was also furious with the officials after the full-time whistle as Lewis was sent off with six minutes remaining.
The draw leaves City fourth in the Premier League table and eight points behind leaders Liverpool, who now have a game in hand after their Merseyside derby against Everton was postponed earlier on Saturday.
‘Football is a game of mistakes,’ Guardiola said.
‘For the good things, we scored two fantastic goals, of course in the set-pieces right now they are stronger than us, every single team.
Editorial use only. All images are copyright Every Second Media Limited. No images may be reproduced without prior permission. All rights reserved. Premier League and Football League images are subject to licensing agreements with Football DataCo Limited. see https://www.football-dataco.com Mandatory Credit: Photo by Sally Rawlins/Every Second Media/Shutterstock (14980193x) Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola confronts referee Rob Jones and is frustrated at full time during the Crystal Palace FC v Manchester City FC English Premier League match at Selhurst Park, London, England, United Kingdom on 7 December 2024 Crystal Palace FC v Manchester City FC, Selhurst Park, London, United Kingdom - 07 Dec 2024
Pep Guardiola was unhappy with referee Rob Jones after Rico Lewis’ late red card (Shutterstock)
‘So we try to concede few, but in general the game was there, coming back in this stadium is not easy, we tried, I’m really pleased for many things also.’
When asked about City’s title chances after the draw at Selhurst Park, Guardiola said: ‘I’ve said many times we cannot talk about that.
‘We lost four games in a row, now we draw. Step by step, try to win the next game, recover people and we’ll see in the last month.’
Asked if he believes City are now on the right track after beating Nottingham Forest and their draw with Palace, Guardiola said: ‘Well, I would say we would have to play more games to be consistent but it’s difficult with the situation that we have.
‘I’m really pleased for the players, they fought and everything. I’m really pleased to work with them.’
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