Man City shocked by Crystal Palace

Defending champions Manchester City were shocked by Crystal Palace 2-1 in the 31st round of the English Premier League at Selhurst Park here on Monday.

Glenn Murray put Crystal Palace ahead with a tap-in from close range in the 35the minute. Jason Puncheon made it 2-0 in the 48th minute with free-kick from the edge of the box.

Manchester City controlled the match but just could not turn their advantage to goals. Yaya Toure pulled a goal back in the 78th minute but that was too little and too late.

The victory was Crystal Palace's seventh in 12 matches since Alan Pardew took over as manager in Jan. 3 and lifted the south London side to the 11th.

Manchester City dropped to fourth with nine points behind Chelsea and also below Arsenal and Manchester United.

Manuel Pellegrini's side, who have played a game more than Chelsea, have now lost their past four away matches. They will take on Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday.

Pardew told Sky Sports: "For us, it was a huge night with the champions coming knowing they are under pressure. We didn't see enough of the ball and our wide players were a little ineffective but we were diligent and hard-working and got through with two quality moments."

Pellegrini said: "I am very disappointed with the score. We have lost our last three games away and we were the best up until Christmas. I think I said two or three weeks ago all we can do is try to add the most amount of points we can in our seven games and we will see who is first, second, third and fourth. It will be very tight and normally you only have one or two points in it." Endi