Raheem Sterling leads way as Manchester City ease past Crystal Palace

Who said Pep Guardiola does not love English football? His time in the country has not been without its fractious moments, but here Manchester City won their headers, defended set pieces and eased through to the fifth round of a tournament Guardiola acknowledges is “so important in England”. As if to ram the point home, he even made the Brazilian teenager Gabriel Jesus, making his full debut for City, play through a lengthy hailstorm.

A match that would have been closer had Crystal Palace taken their chances, was in the end a canter for City. Raheem Sterling’s first-half opener, after an excellent assist from Jesus, was added to by Leroy Sané with 19 minutes remaining before a trademark Yaya Touré free-kick completed proceedings in added time. Guardiola was also able to enjoy club captain Vincent Kompany completing 90 injury-free minutes. For Sam Allardyce, who saw his £11m signing Jeffrey Schlupp limp off with a damaged hamstring, the whole thing must have felt like a fruitless exercise.

Guardiola, resplendent in a coat of many zips, was in a good mood after the match. “We are happy to be nearer the final in a competition that is so important in England‚” he said. “The Champions League is the sweetest trophy, and domestically the Premier League, but of course the FA Cup is very important. We beat a Premier League team away, too, and that counts a lot for me.”

Opting to start with a youthful front three of Jesus, Sané and Sterling, Guardiola felt his side might have wrapped up the match early with several “clear, clear chances”. Sané fluffed a diving header in the second minute and David Silva saw a free-kick spilled by Wayne Hennessey. City also claimed four corners in the opening 10 minutes.

After that period, Palace grew into the game. James Tomkins had a volley pushed wide by Willy Caballero, while Christian Benteke should have done better with a header from a free-kick in the 34th minute. The frustration was compounded for Allardyce as he felt Touré should have received a second yellow card and been sent off for the initial foul. “The referee hasn’t done his job for me‚” the Palace manager said of Mike Jones. “On the consistency of what the referee was doing it was an absolute yellow card.”

Nine minutes later City took the lead. Palace lost possession in the City half to Fabian Delph, the England midfielder also making a return to the starting XI along with Kompany. His header found Jesus, who showed strength to hold off his marker, agility to turn him and then sound technique to slide a pass through Palace’s high defensive line for the onrushing Sterling. The winger finished coolly under Hennessey.

Jesus may have posted on social media of his bafflement at the British weather, but his temperament and physicality seem suited for the English game and he never hid, even during the freezing downpour. “He helped us a lot,” Guardiola said. “He is so aggressive, so strong, he is not a tall guy but he is good in the air. This was his first game and it is not easy to communicate, as he cannot speak English, but his assist was outstanding. We cannot forget that we played with three strikers who are all so young and all three played good.”

At the break Allardyce withdrew Benteke for Loïc Rémy. He insisted it was a pre-planned tactical decision but the suspicion remains the Palace manager does not trust the Belgian to deliver the necessary work. Rémy, for his part, should have equalised within two minutes, but volleyed over the bar when unmarked eight yards out.

As the hail came down, City pushed on. Jesus should have done better with a header, Sterling cheekily backheeled the ball just wide of the post and Delph hit a low drive from 25 yards that Hennessey did well to turn wide. Finally, with 19 minutes remaining, they doubled their lead. For an inexplicable reason Palace allowed Silva to run with the ball from his own half to the edge of the home penalty area. It was three on three and Silva slipped the ball between two Palace defenders for Sané to score.

Touré sealed victory at the ground where he began his rapprochement with Guardiola earlier in the season, curling in a beautiful free-kick. For Allardyce the result may yet prove a blessing in disguise he claimed, but “every game you play, you try to win it and we’ve lost the habit of winning.”

Allardyce confirmed Patrick van Aanholt is close to completing his £10m move from Sunderland. The Dutch defender will almost certainly be called straight into the side for Tuesday’s Premier League match at Bournemouth. “Schluppy’s a big blow for us,” Allardyce said. “It’s a hamstring problem and he’ll be missing for a while.” It never hails, but it pours.