Crystal Palace 2 - Man City 1: Chelsea, Arsenal and Man Utd boost as champions drop points

MANCHESTER CITY remain behind rivals Arsenal and Manchester United in the Premier League standings after the champions left Crystal Palace with a shock 2-1 defeat.

Glen MurrayGETTY

Glen Murray makes it five goals in as many games against Manchester City

Glen Murray fired Palace ahead in the first half, despite both he and Scott Dann appearing to be offside, and Jason Puncheon crashed in a superb second to deal what looks to be a fatal blow to City's already slim hopes of retaining their crown.

The fading champions pulled one back through Yaya Toure but are now nine points adrift of leaders Chelsea, having slipped to fourth place following wins for Arsenal and Manchester United over Easter.

So poor is their current form - three defeats in five matches - that City have suddenly found themselves as the team Liverpool and Tottenham will be eyeing up as they attempt to steal fourth spot and deny them a Champions League place.

By contrast it was another big scalp and a memorable night for Palace, whose revival under manager Alan Pardew shows no sign of letting up.

Palace missed a golden opportunity to take the lead just a minute into the game when Martin Kelly sent a searching ball to the back post, but Jason Puncheon couldn't reach it and Wilfried Zaha blasted high and wide.

It was a big chance and the miss almost proved costly when Sergio Aguero fashioned City's first opportunity, racing onto Joe Hart's long clearance and rounding Julian Speroni.

With the angle too tight to shoot, Aguero squared the ball to David Silva but Palace keeper Speroni got back to deflect the shot over with his shoulder.

Aguero took matters into his own hands moments later, shifting the ball to make space on the edge of the area and beating Speroni with his shot, only to see it come back off the foot of the post.

Joel Ward pumped the ball back into the danger area after City had cleared a corner, Joe Ledley flicked it on and Dann's shot was blocked by Hart only for Murray to tap in the rebound.

City furiously appealed for offside, claiming both Dann and Murray were beyond the last man, but the flag stayed down and skipper Vincent Kompany's lengthy protests to referee Michael Oliver proved in vain.

But if there were question marks about the first goal, there was nothing wrong with the second three minutes after the interval.

Murray was barged over 25 yards out and Puncheon stepped up to curl a stunning free-kick over the wall and beyond the despairing dive of Hart.

City's frustration grew when they had appeals for a penalty waved away after the ball appeared to strike Murray's hand in the area.

Yaya Toure handed the visitors a glimmer of hope on 78 minutes after unleashing a left-footed effort on the edge of the box beyond the reach of Speroni.

Toure's ferocious curler 12 minutes from the end halved the deficit but they could not find an equaliser, with the final whistle sparking wild celebrations in south London - and probably parts of west London as well.

Would you like to receive news notifications from Daily Express?