Manchester City's focus will turn to Premier League action and a return to the Etihad on Saturday as they host Liverpool in their first game after the international break.
12.03.2023 - 08:39 / manchestereveningnews.co.uk
Pep Guardiola could foresee Julian Alvarez's role in Manchester City's win at Crystal Palace well before the Argentine was introduced alongside matchwinner Erling Haaland.
City were on top at Palace throughout, but couldn't find a goal and Haaland was guilty of spurning a glorious chance against a resolute defence. Alvarez replaced Phil Foden just before the hour mark, and immediately played up alongside Haaland as City changed their shape to accommodate the striker.
Alvarez almost scored within a minute or two of his introduction, and the new system sparked City's improvement that would lead to their goal - a Haaland penalty after smart work from Ilkay Gundogan to win a short corner and tempt a foul.
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But it was Alvarez who earned praise from Guardiola at full time, with the manager revealing he plotted the game-changing substitution after just half-an-hour at Selhurst Park.
"Julian in Bournemouth scored twice. Teams defend deep against Haaland, he helps to Haaland to come more spaces and create," Guardiola told Sky Sports.
"Julian is so important and we need him in these games. In the first half after 30 minutes I said to my coaches Julian is coming on immediately in the second half. We needed him in the middle and he had a chance immediately. Today we found it, an intelligent action. Gundo is an exceptional player and got the penalty and Haaland did the rest."
Guardiola also revealed his halftime message that supported the second-half performance, telling his players to remain calm as Palace would try and frustrate them.
He explained: "They have weapons. [Wilfried] Zaha is there, [Michael] Olise, [Eberechi] Eze, they are incredible
Manchester City's focus will turn to Premier League action and a return to the Etihad on Saturday as they host Liverpool in their first game after the international break.
Erling Haaland might still be available for Manchester City's Premier League clash against Liverpool, despite not training this week with his groin injury.
Here are your Manchester City evening headlines on Thursday, March 30.
Premier League action returns this weekend after a short break, and it couldn’t have served up a more enticing tie for us to sink our teeth back into. Liverpool make the trip up the East Lancs Road to take on Manchester City at the Etihad, in a game that could go a long way in defining how the rest of the season unfolds for both teams.
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Manchester City will continue their Premier League title charge against Crystal Palace on Saturday afternoon and three pundits are predicting a routine win for Pep Guardiola and his star-studded team.
Pep Guardiola has indicated that it may be harder for players to work their way back into the first team in the final months of the season.