The Fort Worth Press - Guardiola hails Man City's 'big statement' in win at Palace

Guardiola's side struggled to impose themselves for long spells at Selhurst Park but Erling Haaland's header late in the first half finally broke the deadlock.

After riding their luck thanks to several missed Palace chances before and after Haaland's opener, City showed a ruthless streak to kill off the Eagles.

Phil Foden drilled home from the edge of the area before Haaland added a late third from the penalty spot.

Second-placed City have now won four in a row in the league and sit just two points behind leaders Arsenal as the title race heats up.

Guardiola was especially impressed with the way City dug deep to subdue tenacious Palace just days after their draining 2-1 win at Real Madrid in the Champions League.

"Always when you approach the game, whoever the opponent, on your terms, good things are going to happen. There's no sense to playing football without being who you are as an individual," Guardiola said.

"Still we are not at the top, but we are learning. We will be closer in the future. After playing in the Bernabeu, then we prepared to play the FA Cup winners."

It was a sweet victory for Guardiola after he was out-witted by Palace boss Oliver Glasner in last season's shock FA Cup final defeat at Wembley.

Palace have been a thorn in the side of champions Liverpool, beating them three times this season, and Guardiola acknowledged the threat posed by the south Londoners.

"It's behind a lot of work. Palace are so strong. Every time we play them it's so difficult," he said.

Guardiola conceded City are still a work in progress following his expensive overhaul of the squad since last season.

But he took heart from their willingness to fight for the win over Palace -- a vital characteristic they lacked throughout last season.

"Many things we have to improve. Madrid gave me a lot of things, that still we are not ready, not in mentality but in how to approach certain games. They are young some of the players. But 3-0 here is a big statement for us," he said.

"When you win in the past, you believe the past was perfect, always brilliant, always the red carpet. When we won with 100 points, all the things we achieved, we had a lot of games like today. The resilience was part of that.

"There are moments that you struggle. Madrid was not the perfect game, but it was a step. We fought unbelievably to achieve that.

"We are in a better position than last season. We are close in the competitions we are in," Guardiola added.

T.Harrison--TFWP