Manchester City moved level on points with Chelsea at the top of the Premier League table with a 3-0 victory over Crystal Palace at the Etihad Stadium today.
David Silva netted a second-half brace for the champions to put them in control of the match following a goalless and hard-fought opening 45 minutes.
The hosts then clinched the points with a third from Yaya Toure, although Palace were left feeling aggrieved following an earlier disallowed goal that replays showed should have stood.
Here, Sports Mole takes an in-depth look at whether City deserved all three points.
Match statistics
MAN CITY
Shots: 15
On target: 3
Possession: 73%
Corners: 8
Fouls: 17
CRYSTAL PALACE
Shots: 6
On target: 1
Possession: 27%
Corners: 6
Fouls: 5
Was the result fair?
There is no doubting that City deserved to come away with the victory today, but it didn't always look like being as plain sailing as it eventually became. The first half was a very interesting 45 minutes of football, with Palace holding their own and asking quite a few questions of the champions, who by no means had things all their own way.
It was a different story in the second half, however, with the hosts making a bright start and keeping the pressure on until they had a comfortable two-goal lead. They completely dominated after the break, and the three-goal margin does not flatter them. That said, Palace should have got on the scoresheet having had a goal wrongly disallowed.
That could well have changed the course of the match, with Palace likely to up the pressure on the City defence if they pulled a goal back with the score still 2-0. However, even though that decision went against the Eagles, they can have no complaints at losing this game as City simply outclassed them in the second half.
Man City's performance
Plenty of questions surrounded how City would cope without a recognised striker, with Sergio Aguero, Edin Dzeko and Stevan Jovetic all sidelined for this match. In the first half, it appeared as though they may struggle having created some good openings but failed to produce a shot on target. However, their midfielders stepped up to the plate in the second half and were clinical enough to put the game beyond Palace.
The middle of the pitch was crowded throughout, so City played down the wings and had huge success doing so. The likes of Aleksandar Kolarov and Pablo Zabaleta got in behind the full-backs time and time again, and their crosses really tested the Palace defence. It was an avenue of great joy for the hosts, and they exploited it brilliantly.
They played some eye-catching football this afternoon and looked to be at their very best despite some key players missing. Not many teams would be able to lose all of their strikers and score three goals, as well as losing their best defender in Vincent Kompany and go on to keep a clean sheet. Chelsea will need to stand up and take notice of City now as they have won eight consecutive matches in all competitions and don't look like being stopped anytime soon.
Crystal Palace's performance
Neil Warnock will have been feeling pretty pleased with his side at half time. The Eagles more than held their own in the opening 45 minutes and, while they were on the back foot at times against a City side playing some lovely football, they also had their own moments in the ascendancy in which they troubled the City defence.
They struggled to create anything like that after the break, though, with City taking the game by the scruff of its neck. The likes of Yannick Bolasie and Fraizer Campbell were kept quiet, and as a team they couldn't keep hold of the ball for long enough to test the hosts.
It may well have been different had James McArthur's header been allowed, but on the whole Palace will know that they were comfortably second best after the break today. There are positives for the Eagles to take from the match, but it is another defeat and they could now end the day in the bottom three.
Sports Mole's man of the match
David Silva: A number of City players were in contention for this award, but it has to go to Silva for his two-goal performance. The midfield maestro pulled the strings and was at the heart of many of his side's beautiful passages of play, posing a constant danger to the Palace defence. His first goal had no small slice of luck about it as it deflected in, but his second was well taken to put City into a comfortable lead.
Biggest gaffe
Aside from the goals, the biggest turning point in this match was the decision to disallow McArthur's header. The Palace midfielder was a few yards onside when he directed his effort beyond Hart, which would have made it 2-1 and very much game on. The assistant had a shocker with his decision, made even worse by the fact that the man playing McArthur onside, Fernandinho, was right on his side of the field.
Referee performance
Phil Dowd gave away a number of fairly soft free kicks today, but he didn't have many big decisions to make overall. The linesman was at fault for the McArthur goal, however.
What next?
Man City: The festive schedule gets in full flow now, with West Bromwich Albion next up for City at The Hawthorns on Boxing Day.
Crystal Palace: Palace are also in action on Boxing Day, hosting Southampton at Selhurst Park.
Barney Corkhill
