Crystal Palace vs Man City result: Five things we learned as Pep Guardiola’s side survive nervy end to return to top

Crystal Palace 1-3 Man City: The champions returned to the top of the Premier League table with victory

Raheem Sterling’s double kept Manchester City’s bid to retain their Premier League crown on track as they defeated Crystal Palace 3-1.

Sterling took his goal tally for the season to 21 as Pep Guardiola’s side passed the latest test of their title credentials.

Luka Milivojevic gave Palace hope with nine minutes left when he curled in a free-kick after James McArthur was tripped on the edge of the box.

But as Palace hunted an equaliser they were caught out on the break and Kevin De Bruyne fed Gabriel Jesus in the last minute to ease any nerves and wrap up the victory.

Here’s five things we learned:

1. Kevin De Bruyne shows his leadership

If you want to see how seriously Kevin De Bruyne takes things, the whole game was proof, but there was one moment in the first half that summed it up. And it wasn’t even his brilliant assist to Raheem Sterling, when he played the most perfect through ball into the gap for Sterling to run onto and score. It was actually soon after that when De Bruyne got the ball in that favoured inside right spot of his and curled a pass round the back of the Palace defence. It was there for Sergio Aguero to attack but for whatever reason, Aguero did not run after it. And De Bruyne gave him a huge dressing down. Never mind the fact he is City’s record goalscorer and an all-time great. De Bruyne is no respecter of seniority when the title is on the line.

Pep Guardiola produced an off-colour performance against Palace (Action Images via Reuters)

2. Sergio Aguero wilts in off-colour display

But then Aguero failing to attack that pass was typical of an off-colour display. He was poor here, off the pace, never looking like scoring, losing the ball and losing control. In that sense it was not so different from his display at Tottenham in the Champions League on Tuesday night, when he missed that crucial early penalty and then never got back into the game. He has not looked the same since he limped off at Craven Cottage last month and now Guardiola has a big decision to make going into Wednesday’s second leg at Spurs: does he start with Gabriel Jesus

Leroy Sane was given a rare start by Pep Guardiola (PA)

3. Benjamin Mendy and Leroy Sane fail to complement one another

Pep Guardiola has his issues with Benjamin Mendy but aside from the fitness and focus concerns, there is a tactical element to it too. Guardiola does not like to play Mendy and Sane together: this was just the third time he has done it all season. The thinking is that both players like to attack down the outside, and so they often take up each other’s space. Sure enough that was the case here, as Sane attacked as an outside left, frequently forcing Mendy to come inside. But that is not exactly Mendy’s natural game, and we saw hardly any of those whipped crosses from wide that are Mendy’s greatest weapon

Christian Benteke has failed to justify his price tag (AFP/Getty Images)

4. Christian Benteke continues to labour at Palace

Christian Benteke is still Crystal Palace’s record signing but it speaks volumes about how he has done at Selhurst Park that almost three years on, it was a surprise that Roy Hodgson brought him in for this game, for a rare start. But it was rather less of a surprise how ineffective he was. He has lost all the mobility he had in his early 20s and can only function as a target man. But he lacks the control to hold the ball up, frequently losing out when put under pressure. And he was barely even given any balls into the box to attack. We are two weeks away from the one-year anniversary of Benteke’s last goal for Palace and no-one should bet against him getting there and extending it further.

Vincent Kompany shows his experience (EPA)

5. Vincent Kompany wheeled out to show his nous

Although maybe City were helped in this regard by the selection of Vincent Kompany. The veteran captain only gets wheeled out for special occasions, games like this, almost always in the league or the cups, when City need to call on his big-game nous and his physical relish for a confrontational battle. He was perfect here, winning every 50-50 with Benteke and Zaha, holding off the aerial bombardment, sticking a leg in the way in the box, giving them a muscular resistance that even Nicolas Otamendi cannot provide. He has been here three times before after all.