Manchester City match-winner, Kelechi Iheanacho, insists that the former champions will go all the way in the Premier League this season after his first goal for the club kept up their ideal start to the season.
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But Iheanacho made himself an instant hero by scoring the victor within a minute of going on for only his second senior City appearance, after reacting quickest when Palace goalkeeper Alex McCarthy spilt Samir Nasri’s shot.
“It was a tough game for the team and Palace is a strong team but we are better and that’s why we were able to hold on till the 90th minute, before I came in and scored”, he added.
With 20 minutes remaining Jason Puncheon had an excellent chance to take the lead for Palace, when he met Souare’s cross from the left.
Pellegrini now sees him as an important player for the team and actually wanted to test him out at the end of last season but his debut was suspended after he suffered an injury.
“He’s a very important player for us”. He’s one of the reasons I didn’t bring another striker in when we sold Edin Dzeko.
The Eagles gave Manuel Pellegrini’s men a scare, matching them across the pitch and fashion chances of their own, despite the visitors being the favourites during the bout at Selhurst Park.
Palace have been lifted from the relegation zone to the Champions League places since he joined in January but his side have won only 16 of their 40 points at home – and now has a record of W5 D1 L7 at Selhurst Park.
Now a doubt for the clash against Juve is star-striker, Sergio Aguero, who limped off after 25 minutes following a knee-high swipe from Palace defender Scott Dann.
He’ll score much better goals in his career – but it wasn’t a bad way to get his account off the mark. “We’ll see if he can recover between now and Tuesday”, Pellegrini said.
The English Under-21 worldwide is able to play anywhere across the front line, as both a striker and attacking midfielder, and he surely would have been a good option to call upon.
“Everybody in the league will look at City’s result and say that was a great result for them, the way we’ve been playing”, Pardew said.
“In the first half we were not the same aggressive team with and without the ball, so it was important to keep a clean sheet again“, he said.
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City have won all five of their Premier League matches this season, conceding no goals and creating a five-point gap between themselves and Manchester United in second.
