Crystal Palace breaks Manchester City winning run

Three points from Selhurst Park as Manchester City were held to a goalless draw by Crystal Palace.

1. Manchester City’s lucky escape
All good things must come to an end, and on the final day of 2017, Manchester City’s incredible 18-match winning run is finally over after a goalless draw away at Selhurst Park.

But it could have been even worse for City. After Raheem Sterling was adjudged to have tripped Wilfried Zaha in the closing stages, Luka Milivojevic had the opportunity to finally inflict defeat upon City from the penalty spot. The midfielder stepped up, but smashed his shot straight at Ederson, who maintained his clean sheet and City’s unbeaten record. It’s a moment that Palace might rue come the end of the season — and might also be looked back on as the closest City come to being defeated.

City’s winning run, though, is a Premier League record that may stand for some time — the previous best was Arsenal’s 14 in 2002, stretching across two campaigns. City’s only previous failure to win this season was their opening home game of the season, a 1-1 home draw with Everton, when they were handicapped by Kyle Walker’s early red card, so this was the first time anyone had stopped 11-man City.

In the grand scheme of things, it changes very little. City points gap over their nearest challengers is 14, with Chelsea rather than Manchester United now in second place. The main focus is still on whether City can go the season unbeaten, matching Arsenal’s Invincibles from 2003-04. But Arsenal’s unique record of scoring in every game, back in 2001-02, is one feat City now cannot match.