Haaland and Foden propel City in pursuit of Arsenal

Even in a week when they have beaten the mighty Real Madrid in the Santiago Bernabéu, this ranked as one of Pep Guardiola's most satisfying victories of the season.

- Ed Aarons

It was Oliver Glasner who condemned the Manchester City manager to his first season without a major trophy since his first year in English football, when Crystal Palace enjoyed the greatest day in their history at the FA Cup final in May. So outsmarting one of the Premier League's shrewdest operators gave Guardiola extra contentment, not to mention helping City to move back to within two points of Arsenal.

Erling Haaland sent them on their way after holding out against a determined Palace side during the first half before adding a late penalty to take his league tally for the season to 17. Phil Foden scored his sixth goal in four Premier League appearances -in front of Thomas Tuchel, the England manager - to seal City’s revenge. But it still was not enough for a perfectionist such as Guardiola.

“I think today was not good, he didn’t play at his best. He lost a lot of balls, he was so anxious with decisions,” he said of the 25-year-old, before acknowledging that it was not only Foden who lost his way in the previous campaign after an unprecedented four successive league titles. “The problems last season was not Phil, it was everyone - me included. This was an incredible lesson for us.”