Pep Guardiola remains undecided about which of his goalkeepers will start the first leg of Manchester City’s Champions League quarter-final against Real Madrid on Tuesday night.
Ederson, who was forced off in City’s 1-1 draw at Liverpool last month, was on the bench for the Premier League title-holders’ 4-2 victory at Crystal Palace on Saturday.
Stefan Ortega put in another solid performance, including a first-half Cruyff turn to deny in-form Palace forward Jean-Philippe Mateta the opportunity of breaking a 1-1 deadlock at half-time.
Guardiola said: “I have to think about it because Eddie (Ederson) comes from injury, he feels good, I think so, so now I have to decide if a lack of rhythm for that match, I have to decide, but we are really pleased with the (performance) from Stefan. He is an exceptional keeper.”
There was speculation over whether Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne would start at Selhurst Park, but both were on the pitch at kick-off, shortly after which Mateta fired in the opener.
It was a De Bruyne masterclass that would win it for City, who were challenged by Oliver Glasner’s hosts throughout the first half but returned from the break a far more organised side.
Rico Lewis fired the visitors into an early second-half lead before De Bruyne set up Haaland’s 19th of the league campaign, then brought up a century of goals for City with his second of the afternoon.
Guardiola’s 2023 treble-winners remain in contention to repeat the feat this season but remain one point shy of both table-toppers Arsenal and Liverpool, who are level on 71 points and separated by the Gunners’ advantage on goal difference.
Though City have experience in finding themselves deep in multiple competitions late in the season, Guardiola admitted more injuries this campaign has made the task of fielding a fresh side for every match a bigger challenge this time around.
That may mean a few changes for Tuesday’s contest – and watching a bit more of the opponent.
He said: “I know everyone wants to play but I’ll have to see. The doctors will knock on the door and say, ‘OK, you can count on this player, you can count on this player’, and after we’ll try to see Madrid.
“Because still I didn’t see a lot. I will talk with my staff that see more games than me and change the line-up and try to win.”
Palace are still looking for their first win since Glasner replaced Roy Hodgson in February but showed plenty of promise in the first half of Saturday’s home contest.
Captain Joel Ward, who recorded his 300th Premier League appearance for the Eagles on Saturday, told the club website: “I think there’s a lot of positives that we can take from that game. Obviously we created a good few chances as well and scored two goals. I think from front to back we were solid for large spells of the game.
“You’re always going to have your back up against City. Against another team we’d probably go on to win that game.”
Barcelona 4-2 Valencia: Lewandowski hat-trick leads Barca to 4-2 win over 10-man Valencia
Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski scored a second-half hat-trick to help his side fight back to claim a hard-fought 4-2 win over Valencia, who were leading 2-1 when they were reduced to 10 men just before the break.
Fermin Lopez's header from a Raphinha cross put Barca in front after 22 minutes, but Valencia's Hugo Duro struck in the 27th and Pepelu scored from the spot after a foul by Ronald Araujo 11 minutes later to give the visitors the lead.
But after Valencia keeper Giorgi Mamardashvili saw red for a handball outside the box before the break, Xavi's side dominated and Lewandowski scored with two headers from corners in the 49th and 82nd minutes before getting his treble with a free-kick in added time.
The win postponed Real Madrid's almost inevitable LaLiga title celebrations for a couple of weeks as Carlo Ancelotti's side sit atop the standings on 84 points.
Barcelona moved back to second in LaLiga on Monday with 73 points as they leapfrogged surprise package Girona, who are third with 71. Those two teams will meet in a Catalonia derby on Saturday.
Data debrief
Barcelona conceded two goals in the first half of a home game for the second time this season, after also doing so against Girona in LaLiga in December 2023.
However, Lewandowski's goals have been invaluable to La Blaugrana this season as he's earned 17 points with his 16 goals in the league.
Kimmich ready to open Bayern Munich talks amid Barcelona speculation
Joshua Kimmich is ready to open talks with Bayern Munich over his future at the club amid speculation linking him with Barcelona.
The Germany international has spent nine years at the Allianz Arena, but he is due to become a free agent at the end of the 2024-25 campaign.
Barca have been repeatedly linked with Kimmich in recent transfer windows and are said to retain an interest ahead of next season.
Speaking to Spanish outlet AS, the midfielder talked up Barca - as well as fierce rivals Real Madrid - but fell short of saying he is open to a move.
"I want to talk to Bayern. When I do that, I won't go out and talk to the press about it," he said.
"I'm not thinking about this. I will speak to Bayern first. But of course, Barcelona and Real Madrid are amazing clubs with an amazing history."
Kimmich has played 37 times in all competitions this season for Bayern, whose last remaining hope of silverware is in the Champions League.
Bayern will face Real Madrid over two legs for a place in the final, with the first match in that double-header taking place in Bavaria on Tuesday.
Thomas Tuchel will depart the dethroned Bundesliga champions at the end of the season, with Ralf Rangnick the favourite to succeed him.
The managerial uncertainty is not helping with regards to the Kimmich rumours, but he insists that will not be a deciding factor on his future.
"It's not the most important thing right now," he said. "I know that when you sign a contract you don't sign it with the coach.
"You sign it with the club. For me, the most important thing is the club, not just the coach.
"But it's also important to know what the coach thinks about you and the team. Other people in the club can worry about choosing the coach."
Desailly calls on LaLiga to do more to protect Vinicius Junior
Marcel Desailly has called on LaLiga to do more to protect Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior and other players who have been targeted by racist abuse.
Vinicius broke down at a press conference earlier this month as he opened up about the abuse he has received from the stands while representing Madrid.
The Brazil international is not alone in that regard, with team-mate Aurelien Tchouameni another example, and World Cup winner Desailly wants more to be done.
"Vinicius has spoken out, but it's not about him - it's about LaLiga and the people who can take action," he told Stats Perform.
"We have the power to change things, but we are not doing enough. Samuel Eto'o had the same issue before.
"Vinicius is one of those who is suffering because the administrative people in charge are not willing to hit harder than they are."
Vinicius has been a key player for LaLiga champions-elect Madrid once again this season with 13 goals and five assists in 23 outings.
Desailly regards Vinicius, who scored the winning goal in the 2022 Champions League final, as one of the finest players of his generation.
"He's a very ambitious player," Desailly said. "I think he's improved a lot because he is now clinical in assisting and finishing.
"When you look at someone like Ousmane Dembele, his stats are not as good.
"Then you look at Jadon Sancho, Bukayo Saka, another who has improved - there is potential for each of those to get close to Vinicius."
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