Rico Lewis Red Card Overshadows Manchester City’s Draw at Crystal Palace

Manchester City’s winning streak came to a halt at Selhurst Park on Saturday, as they fought back to secure a 2-2 draw against Crystal Palace in a thrilling Premier League encounter. However, the match was marred by a controversial red card for Rico Lewis, who was sent off for a second yellow card after a challenge on Trevoh Chalobah, leaving Pep Guardiola’s side to finish the match with 10 men.

The game started in dramatic fashion, with Palace taking an early lead through Daniel Muñoz in the fifth minute. City lost possession in midfield, and Palace capitalized with a quick counter-attack. Muñoz raced forward, receiving a pass from Will Hughes, and calmly slotted past City goalkeeper Stefan Ortega to put the hosts ahead. The goal was initially reviewed by VAR but stood, as Kyle Walker was deemed to have played Muñoz onside.

City quickly regrouped and dominated possession, though Palace remained a constant threat on the counter-attack. Ilkay Gundogan came close to equalizing, hitting the post with a long-range effort. City’s pressure eventually paid off in the 30th minute when Erling Haaland outmuscled Marc Guehi to head home a cross from Matheus Nunes, leveling the score at 1-1.

Palace regained the lead early in the second half. A well-placed corner from Hughes found Maxence Lacroix, who powered home a header to give Palace a 2-1 advantage. But City responded again through Lewis, who produced a brilliant strike in the 68th minute, rifling a shot into the top corner of the net to level things up at 2-2. Remarkably, it was the 20-year-old’s third Premier League goal, all of which have come against Palace.

However, just minutes later, disaster struck for City. Lewis, who had already been booked for dissent, was shown a second yellow card after a challenge on Chalobah. Replays suggested that Chalobah had exaggerated the incident, but VAR did not intervene, and the red card stood. With City down to 10 men, Palace pushed for a late winner, but City held firm, and the match ended in a draw.

Guardiola praised his team’s resilience, despite the frustration of playing with a man down. “I’m so proud of how the team fought,” he said after the match. “We came back twice in a tough place, and we gave everything. The conditions were difficult, and we have many problems with the squad. But we kept fighting.”

The draw was a bitter pill for City, especially with several key players still sidelined due to injury, including Rodri, Manuel Akanji, John Stones, and Nathan Ake. Guardiola also lamented the loss of Lewis for next weekend’s Manchester derby, as the young defender will now be unavailable due to his suspension.

Although City dominated possession throughout the match, Palace’s quick counter-attacks and set-piece threat kept them on the back foot. The draw leaves City in fourth place in the Premier League, still trailing leaders Liverpool, who were not in action this weekend.