Crystal Palace all but ended Manchester City’s grip on their Premier League crown with a 2-1 victory at Selhurst Park last night to leave the champions nine points behind leaders Chelsea with five matches to go.
Impressive Palace defended resolutely to withstand early City pressure before taking the lead through Glenn Murray after 34 minutes.
He swept in from close range after Scott Dann’s shot bounced off goalkeeper Joe Hart’s leg into his path.
The goal stood despite City claiming Palace had been offside in the build-up, but there was no argument about Palace’s second three minutes into the second half.
Fernandinho brought down Murray 20 metres from goal and Jason Puncheon swept his curling free kick over the wall and past Hart into the corner of the goal.
Yaya Toure brought City back into contention with a low thunderous drive after 78 minutes but the Eagles held on for the points.
| P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| Chelsea | 30 | 21 | 7 | 2 | 63 | 26 | 70 |
| Arsenal | 31 | 19 | 6 | 6 | 62 | 32 | 63 |
| Man. United | 31 | 18 | 8 | 5 | 55 | 28 | 62 |
| Man. City | 31 | 18 | 7 | 6 | 63 | 30 | 61 |
| Liverpool | 31 | 16 | 6 | 9 | 45 | 36 | 54 |
| Tottenham | 31 | 16 | 6 | 9 | 50 | 45 | 54 |
| S’thampton | 31 | 16 | 5 | 10 | 42 | 22 | 53 |
| Swansea | 31 | 13 | 7 | 11 | 37 | 39 | 46 |
| West Ham | 31 | 11 | 9 | 11 | 41 | 39 | 42 |
| Stoke City | 31 | 12 | 6 | 13 | 35 | 39 | 42 |
| C. Palace | 31 | 10 | 9 | 12 | 38 | 42 | 39 |
| Everton | 31 | 9 | 10 | 12 | 39 | 42 | 37 |
| Newcastle | 31 | 9 | 8 | 14 | 33 | 49 | 35 |
| West Brom | 31 | 8 | 9 | 14 | 28 | 43 | 33 |
| Sunderland | 31 | 5 | 14 | 12 | 24 | 44 | 29 |
| Hull City | 31 | 6 | 10 | 15 | 29 | 43 | 28 |
| Aston Villa | 31 | 7 | 7 | 17 | 20 | 42 | 28 |
| Burnley | 31 | 5 | 11 | 15 | 26 | 49 | 26 |
| QPR | 31 | 7 | 4 | 20 | 35 | 55 | 25 |
| Leicester | 30 | 5 | 7 | 18 | 29 | 49 | 22 |
The Championship
Bournemouth vs Birmingham 4-2; Brentford vs N. Forest 2-2; Cardiff vs Bolton 0-3; Huddersfield vs Ipswich 2-1; Norwich vs Sheffield Wed. 2-0, Rotherham vs Brighton 1-0; Wigan vs Derby 0-2; Watford vs Middlesbrough 2-0; Wolves vs Leeds 4-3.
League One
Bradford vs Preston 0-3; Chesterfield vs Crewe 1-0; Colchester vs Barnsley 3-1; Crawley vs Oldham 2-0; Fleetwood vs Yeovil 4-0; L. Orient vs Gillingham 3-3; N. County vs Coventry 0-0; Peterborough vs Walsall 0-0; Rochdale vs Port Vale 1-0.
League Two
Exeter vs Newport 2-0; Mansfield vs Shrewsbury 0-1; Acc. Stanley vs Carlisle 3-1; Burton vs Wycombe 1-0; Bury vs Morecambe 1-2; Cheltenham vs Stevenage 0-1; Dagenham vs Wimbledon 4-0; Hartlepool vs Southend 0-1; Northampton vs Cambridge 0-1; Oxford vs York 0-0; Portsmouth vs Plymouth 2-1; Tranmere vs Luton 0-1.