Guardiola dismisses ‘bad luck’ claims after Crystal Palace draw

Man­chester City boss, Pep Guardi­ola, says his side cannot blame bad luck for their failure to see out games after they dropped more points from a winning posi­tion in Saturday’s 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace.

The defending champions led 2-0 with 15 minutes to go but were pegged back by Jean-Philippe Mateta’s breakaway goal and Michael Olise’s 95th-minute penalty as the Eagles completed an unlikely comeback.

It is the fourth time in their past six Premier League matches where City have been held after leading late on, leaving them three points behind leaders Liver­pool, who have a game in hand.

“It’s not bad luck, it’s de­served,” Guardiola said. “We gave away two points but if you give away a penalty, you deserve it.”

City, who were without injured leading scorer,ErlingHaa­land, had 19 shots compared to five by Palace, who found the net with both their efforts on target.

Guardiola rejected sugges­tions that his side had eased off, however, and felt they continued to push for more goals after going 2-0 up at the start of the second half.

“Just like in the games against Tottenham which ended 3-3 and Liverpool when City drew 1-1, we were excellent,” Guardiola added. “But, again we are not able to win.

“You saw the chances we created compared to the chances we conceded and apart from the Chelsea game that ended 4-4 it was quite similar to the rest of the season – but we are not able to close the game.

“Playing that way, we didn’t concede absolutely anything until their goal – they had a chance in the first half when two of our players slipped, but until they scored they didn’t do anything.

“So, the team was really good, but at the end, when you give them a penalty, it is like the penalty we conceded against Chelsea – we didn’t deserve to win.

“At the end, it is about being patient, and not conceding transi­tion – the things we have done for seven or eight years in this type of

.

“But of course in the first action they run and score a goal and then in injury time we gave them a penalty. In your 18-yard box you have to be careful, and we were not.”

City’s total of 34 points from their first 17 games is their fewest under Guardiola since he took charge in 2016, and it is the first time they have been outside the top three at this stage with him at the helm.

They could lose further ground at the top of the table in the next few days, as they head for Saudi Arabia to take part in the FIFA Club World Cup, where they face Japanese side, Urawa Red Diamonds, in the semi-finals tomorrow.

If Liverpool win their next three games, Guardiola’s side will be 12 points behind the Reds by the time they play their next Premier League game, at Everton on December 27, albeit with two games in hand.

“It would be better to go on a six or seven-hour flight with a result, of course,” Guardiola said.

“We have just three days to recover, and then just three days for a potential final on December 22 but it is what it is.

“Now, we are down and we have to leave for the Middle East as quickly as possible, and go to compete there.” –BBC

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