Manchester City 5–2 Crystal Palace Player Ratings: The Citizens Thrash Palace After an Amazing Comeback in Premier League
This week’s Premier League clash started at the Etihad Stadium as Manchester City hosted Crystal Palace for the first league fixture of Saturday Afternoon (12th April, 2025). It was a match full of goals. While Eze and Richards scored for Palace, De Bruyne, Marmoush, Kovacic, McAtee, and O’Reilly were on the score sheet for City.
The 3rd minute of the game saw Palace getting a quick chance to break. Mateta almost scored with a header from an incoming cross. However, it was called offside. The 4th minute saw an amazing pass from Kovacic over the head of the Palace defenders. The pass found McAtee, who shot it straight to Henderson.
While Man City moved the ball with authority for the first 10 minutes, Palace was confident playing it from the back and picking the ball in compact places. A quick break in the 9th minute saw Eze scoring the first goal from an incoming low cross to give his team a 0-1 lead.
The 12th minute of the game saw an exquisite pass from De Bruyne to Marmoush, who took the ball well, but the finish was poor. Chris Richards doubled the lead for the travelling team with a header that came from a corner. Palace have gotten their dream start.
A thumping shot from De Bruyne at the 22nd minute hit the woodwork and denied him the goal from outside the box. Eze almost made it 0-3, but he was caught offside.
The 31st minute served as a strong reminder for City as to what they will miss as De Bruyne stepped up to take a free kick. He converted the spot kick to give his team one goal back and make the score 1-2.
The 35th minute saw Marmoush scoring another one back from the box to make the score 2-2. After the normal 45 minutes, 3 minutes were added. However, the score stood 2-2.
The start of the second half saw Kovacic score from just outside the box to make it 3-2. It was another assist from De Bruyne. Ederson bagged an assist as in the 56th minute he found McAtee, who made it 4-2 for City. De Bruyne made an exquisite cross in the box in the 59th minute. Unfortunately, Omar could not convert the ball.
In the 78th minute, Nico O’Reilly scored the 5th goal for Man City from outside the box. It was 5-2, with a 3-goal advantage for Man City. After the normal 90 minutes, 7 additional minutes were added. However, the score stood 5-2.
Here are the Manchester City vs Crystal Palace player ratings.
Manchester City Player Ratings
GK- Ederson- 4/10
While the first goal was pretty much out of Ederson’s hands, he trapped himself inside his box when his team conceded the 2nd from the corner. He got an assist in the game. After picking up an injury, he was subbed off in the 69th minute.
RB- Rico Lewis- 4.5/10
Rico has been very busy in the first half. Spent the majority of the first half in the opposition’s half as they were chasing the scoreline. Connected with his team well.
CB- Ruben Dias- 5.5/10
Ruben has been the best in the defensive line today. However, the Portuguese International’s performance in this game has been below average, which is nothing new, looking at his games lately.
CB- Josko Gvardiol- 5/10
Josko was utterly disappointed as to how easily his team’s defense was caught more than once as Palace went forward with the ball after breaking the attack of Man City.
LB- Nico O’Reilly- 4.5/10
While Nico was given the green light to be way up in the pitch, he was caught terribly during the first goal that came from a low cross delivered from the left flank. It was just too easy for Crystal Palace to get behind. He scored the 5th goal for his team.
CDM- Nico Gonzalez- 4.5/10
Nico won the foul outside the box, which led to the first goal from City. Received balls in tight places and been efficient throughout the first half. However, he gave the ball away multiple times, which is not acceptable when you are playing for Guardiola.
CDM- Mateo Kovacic- 5.5/10
Mateo held the fort of the midfield from the back well. From helping his team play from the back to allowing De Bruyne and Gundogan to be more on the front, he has carried out his responsibilities rather well. Scored the 3rd goal for Man City. He was subbed off along with De Bruyne in the latter minutes of the second half.
RM- James McAtee- 5/10
McAtee missed more than one easy chance to score for his team. In the starting minutes, he failed to score from a 1v1 with Henderson. Then the 33rd minute saw him get another chance with a header, and he failed to score there too. In the second half, he missed another chance to score for his club as his shot traveled to the stands. 4th time was the chance for James as he scored from an Ederson long ball. He got himself booked in the 67th minute.
CAM- Ilkay Gundogan- 5.5/10
Sure, Gundogan does not play the traditional role of CAM. However, his performance as a midfielder overall has been poor lately. And the match against Palace was no different.
LM- Kevin De Bruyne- 7/10
Pretty much gave his club a strong reminder as to what they would be missing in the next season. De Bruyne was the only player in the team who had any impact on the game in the first half. From creating chances to making himself chances out of nothing, he did it all in the first half. He scored the first goal from a free kick in the 31st minute. His playmaking is just so exquisite.
ST- Omar Marmoush- 6/10
While Omar missed the first chance De Bruyne created for him, he did not miss his mark on the 34th minute, when he scored the second goal for his team, that too came from De Bruyne. He was subbed off in the 81st minute.
Sub- Stefan Ortega- 4/10
Came on to the match in the 69th minute as Ederson picked up an injury. The game was pretty much settled as the keeper only needed to keep the Palace players off the ball.
Sub- Oscar Bobb- 4/10
Oscar came on to the game to see off the match. He came in the 81st minute to take the place of Omar Marmoush.
Sub- Savinho- 4/10
Savinho came along Oscar Bobb in the 81st minute. Pep wanted to take care of McAtee as he already scored a goal but was on a yellow card.
Sub- Jeremy Doku- 4/10
Doku came in the match in the 87th minute to sub out Kevin De Bruyne. After delivering a stunning performance, Pep wanted to keep his player fresh for the next fixture.
Sub- Jack Grealish- 4/10
Jack came in to take the place of Kovacic. Pep wanted Jack and Jeremy to have more of the ball until the full-time whistle. On the other hand, Jack getting some time on the pitch was a win-win situation for Pep.
Manager- Pep Guardiola- 6/10
Pep seemed to be worried at the beginning of the match as his team conceded two goals in a quick minutes. However, the manager was happy that his team came back and ensured a 5-2 win.
Crystal Palace Player Ratings
GK- Dean Henderson- 5/10
Dean is not to be blamed for the first couple of goals Palace has conceded. De Bruyne’s free-kick was just that good, and he was helpless when Omar scored the equalizer.
CB- Maxense Lacroix- 5.5/10
While Lacroix seemed to be holding the fort well with Lerma and Richards in the earlier minutes, as we approached the ending minutes of the first half, their defense crumbled horribly. He picked up a yellow card in the 53rd minute. He won 1 out of his 2 ground duels before he was subbed off.
CB- Jefferson Lerma- 5/10
Lerma’s performance as the center back was not at all close to his expectations. While they have played the ball well from the back to make more spaces in the midfield, his defensive performance was poor in the first half. He got a yellow card in the 93rd minute.
CB- Chris Richards- 6/10
In addition to Chris’s defensive duties, he has been phenomenal going forward as well. From holding a highline to dropping deep, he has done it all. He scored the second goal in the 20th minute from a corner.
CM- Tyrick Mitchell- 5/10
Tyrick maintained an 82% passing accuracy throughout the first half. He had 23 total touches and made sure to give his team the highest efficiency. He was subbed off in the 60th minute. By then, he maintained a 71% passing accuracy.
CM- Daichi Kamada- 5/10
Daichi played his part in the first half, making sure Man City didn’t have much time with the ball. However, he was booked at the 30th minute mark for illegally stopping an incoming Man City player.
CM- Adam Wharton- 5/10
Adam has maintained a 0.07 xA in the first half. He bagged an assist while just having a total of 12 touches in the first half. The midfielder had maintained a 100% passing accuracy in the first half. Adam Wharton was subbed off in the 2nd half as Palace started to get bombarded with goals.
RM- Daniel Munoz- 5/10
Daniel gave both Gundogan and Marmoush a hard time. However, while his marking duties were exceptional, he had no impact in the first half with the attacking build-ups as he spent most of the time in a deeper position.
CAM- Eberechi Eze- 7/10
Eze has been the main man for Crystal Palace. Calmly guided the ball into the net, passing Ederson with ease after a low cross came into the box. It’s a glimpse of what an amazing season he is having so far. He was subbed off in the 80th minute.
CAM- Ismalia Sarr- 5/10
In the 49 minutes Ismalia played in the first half, he maintained 0.37 xG and 0.18 xA. He bagged an assist with only 17 touches in the first half.
ST- Jean-Philippe Mateta- 6.5/10
Mateta sees very less of the ball. He had only 5 touches in the first half. However, the forward won 1 out of his 4 ground duels and 2 out of his 3 aerial duels. He was subbed off at the start of the second half.
Sub- Will Hughes- 4/10
Will came on at the beginning of the second half. He was subbed in as Glasner did not want to risk Mateta. On the other hand, Hughes go some valuable 45 minutes of play.
Sub- Ben Chiwell- 4/10
Ben came on to the game in the 59th minute as the manager wanted to make a change to the average defensive performance. He took the place of Lacroix, who had a decent game.
Sub- Nathaniel Clyne- 4/10
Along with Chiewll, Clyne came onto the pitch as a double substitution. The Palace boss wanted fresh legs on the pitch and to get at least one point from the match.
Sub- Matheus Franca- 4/10
Franca came in the match after Palace conceded the 5th goal. He was pretty much there to see off the game and make sure the team does not have to digest any more goals.
Sub- Justin Devenny- 4/10
Justin came in the 80th minute alongside with Franca to see off the game. It was the last substitution for Oliver Glasner, who was seen visibly upset with the result.
Manager- Oliver Glasner- 3/10
While Oliver seemed relieved as his team got an early lead, as the time went on, it became a disaster for the manager as he had to sit and see his team lose the comfortable advantage.
Sportsdunia man of the match is Kevin De Bruyne.
When was the match between Manchester City vs Crystal Palace?
The match between Manchester City vs Crystal Palace was on 12th April.
What was the score of the match between Manchester City vs Crystal Palace?
The score of the match between Manchester City vs Crystal Palace was 5-2.
Who was the best player of the match between Manchester City vs Crystal Palace?
Kevin De Bruyne was the best player of the match between Manchester City vs Crystal Palace.
Who was the worst player of the match between Manchester City vs Crystal Palace?
Mateta was the worst player of the match between Manchester City vs Crystal Palace.