Crystal Palace 0-0 Manchester City: 3 Things We Learned

1 - The result was not the most disappointing part

Regardless of the points dropped, the most disappointing part of the game will be the injuries to Gabriel Jesus and Kevin De Bruyne. Jesus left in tears while De Bruyne needed a stretcher suggesting both could be out for the foreseeable future. The loss of De Bruyne will be pivotal to City’s season and the rotation option of Jesus will hurt during a busy January.

2 - A quick, organised press can limit Manchester City

Apart from the opening stages of City-Liverpool when the visitors had 11 men, this was the best press City have faced in the league this season. The pace of Wilfried Zaha and Andros Townsend was used intelligently to press when Palace had the optimal chance to cause a mistake. Yohan Cabaye also pressed from deep and Palace’s biggest chances of the first half came courtesy of two mistakes from Eliaquim Mangala and Danilo Luiz.

Palace may not have won, but they may have laid down a blueprint on how to get a positive result against the virtual Premier League champions.

3 - Kyle Walker is proving his worth

Many people scoffed at Walker’s £50 million price tag when he joined in the summer, but with every game he is making it look more and more like a bargain. In this game specifically, he was superb against the threat of Wilfried Zaha.

Not many full-backs in the Premier League can claim to be able to keep up with the pace of Zaha, but Walker is one of them and he won every battle. Palace’s attacking joy only really came once Zaha swapped wings and even earned a penalty on Danilo’s side of the pitch. As long as he stays healthy and fresh, Kyle Walker is the best right-back in England. By a mile.