This was a disastrous week in Manchester City's efforts to save the season. They not only missed the opportunity to win the cup but also fell behind in the race for a ticket to the Champions League next season.
Aston Villa's victories over Tottenham and Chelsea over Manchester United have seen Man City drop to 6th place with only 2 matches left.
Coach Pep Guardiola must lift the players' spirits before Bournemouth visit the Etihad Stadium. The Spaniard was unhappy with the fixtures, wanting players to have more time to rest.
Bournemouth, who are fighting for a place in the European Cup, will be ready to take advantage of every advantage if Man City cannot maintain their form.
The right to participate in the Champions League is still in Man City's hands. And they will have to defeat Bournemouth as well as Fulham to complete that goal. However, they have failed to score against Southampton and Palace in back-to-back games as some players have begun to show exhaustion.
Guardiola's side cannot afford to drop points against Bournemouth next week. Otherwise, they will face a stressful start to the day at Craven Cottage.
Everyone is used to Guardiola always creating surprises in big matches. And the same thing happened in the FA Cup final. The Spanish strategist chose a squad with many strikers, but there was little protection at the back.
Mateo Kovacic was not fit enough to be in the squad and Ilkay Gundogan was left on the bench. That means Bernardo Silva is expected to play in the deepest half-back position with the support of Kevin De Bruyne. But this tactic was ineffective.
Guardiola said at a pre-match press conference that he was wary of Palace as they counter-attacked quickly. However, when Palace did that in the 16th minute, not many players in Man City's midfield were capable of breaking the game.
The ball moved as fast as a lightning from Henderson to Mateta. And when the ball was passed to Munoz on the left wing, it was too late. It was a typical goal for Palace.
At the other end, De Bruyne, Jeremy Doku and Savinho only created a few chances for Haaland. One of them came in the 7th minute when Haaland's volley was blocked by goalkeeper Henderson. Overall, the Norwegian striker was still lackluster in another big match.
Palace are well-organized, tight in defense and very dangerous in counter-attacks when necessary. Glasner's plan was a great success.
"They gave us 9 or 10 minutes of extra time, but the problem was the speed, the tempo of the game. Fans came to the stadium to watch the 22 players play for real, not continuously. Look at Barcelona, when they are behind, they still attack, attack, then attack. It was a really beautiful match.
My team never deliberately waste time, because I want to play football the way the fans deserve to see. Congratulations Crystal Palace. They defended really well and we couldn't score" - Guardiola complained after the match.
