A few nice interventions by Richards in the second half. Palace have dropped off a bit, but Spurs haven't created anything particularly dangerous yet.
I'm a little surprised CP have taken their foot off the gas, I expected them to press a little harder to increase their GD
Crystal Palace up 1-0 against Fiorentina after a penalty converted by Mateta. Dodo with one of the dumbest challenges I've seen this year (after Tillmans against Arsenal). Guessand miskicks the ball way off target and Dodo decided to go to ground in between Guessands legs for the foul.
Playing WHU right now on free TV, USA Network. Nearly a catastrophic backpass to the Keeper right there, he got very VERY lucky with that decision.
Richards starting in a European semifinal, and Palace score in the first minute. They've been crap since, but still lead 1-0.
At the back post, Richards wins a header that prevents a chance while Henderson was still trying to get into position. Big play.
Shakhtar equalize on a corner after no one on Palace including Richards reacts to where a flick-on might go, but three Shakhtar players do. 1-1 early second half.
Kamada - yes, Kamada, scores for Palace from near the penalty spot after a long throw (I think by Richards) results in a loose ball falling to him. 2-1 Palace in about the 58th minute.
Very good tackle in the defensive box by Richards. Overshadowed by Sarr needing treatment enough that multiple subs are warming up.
After Shakhtar have been pounding on the door for a while, Kamada takes advantage of a whiff by a Shakhtar player to play Strand Larsen through - and Strand Larsen shows great composure and a clean finish to make it 3-1. Palace with one foot in a European final if they can hold this lead.
Full time 3-1. Richards with a couple of big plays and 5/6 on duels, plus the big throw-in, but not among the stars of the match overall. Great neutral site win against the homeless opposition.
Richards starts the Conference League semi, having won the "road" leg 3-1. But Shakhtar have come to play early - aggressive setup and assertive play.
GOAL for 1-0 / 4-1 on Palace's first possession deep in the other end. Richards hockey assist, aiming for Mateta near midfield. Great flick-on by Mateta and Yeremy Pino runs onto it, wins a speed battle, and finishes calm far lower corner. Potential offside would ruin the fun. Edit: Ruled offside. Bummer.
This time Palace's go-ahead goal is likely to count. Some great stuff from Wharton in the buildup, and then it's Wharton's shot that forces a good save. The rebound goes wide to Munoz, who attempts to play a final pass across the 6 but it deflects off of Henrique and between the keeper and near post as defender and keeper were both trying to block the pass. 1-0 / 4-1.
one of the sideboard ads was for a "Manchester City club branded residence community in Abu Dhabi" and its the first time i feel like the game might actually be gone... while typing that, Chris gets his head on a Palace corner, but can't put the shot on target. Replays show that's because it went off a City defender, but the ref called GK.
first 20' going as expected: City with the vast majority of the ball, Palace with 11 behind the ball. So far, Palace has been super disciplined and well positioned. I think the only surprise is that they've had about 3 good shots on target coming from either fast breaks or set pieces. It is now pouring, so we'll see if that affects the overall flow of the game.
~30': City score, 1-0. Foden caught Palace out of place with a really cheeky backheel to Semenyo Richards was marking Semenyo, but you can't say he's out of position or anything, just about the entire defense was caught by Foden's backheel pass. Semenyo's shot just trickled in to the net because the keeper was caught flat-footed by Foden's pass.
Richards got caught in possession, resulting in a City break, but one of his teammates is able to cover his mistake. Still 1-0.