1 1980 Palace 2 City 3
John Bond had not long been in the Maine Road hotseat following Malcolm Allison’s sacking but he had quickly transformed the Blues’ fortunes.
Transformed, in fact, isn’t quite the word. City had lost eight and drawn four of the first dozen matches and were rooted to the foot of Division One - Bond’s first 10 league and cup games resulted in eight wins, one draw and one loss.
Towards the end of that initial burst, the Blues travelled to Selhurst Park to take on a Palace side now below City in the table and one of Bond’s new signings - the late Gerry Gow - would score twice along with another for Kevin Reeves in a 3-2 win over the struggling Eagles.
Ironically, Palace then turned to Malcolm Allison who began his second spell at Selhurst the game after!
2 1992 Palace 1 City 3
This match was memorable for Niall Quinn’s ‘perfect hat-trick’.
The big City No.9 put the Blues ahead on 36 minutes with a scrambled left-foot shot from close range before volleying home with his right a minute later to send City into the break two goals to the good.
Eight minutes after the restart, Quinn thumped a header into the net to complete a 17-minute hat-trick - one of the fastest in Club history. John Salako pulled one back for Steve Coppell’s side but City ran out comfortable 3-1 winners.
3 2009 Palace 0 City 2
A 2-0 League Cup win may not seem like the most important result – but this game saw Carlos Tevez notch his first goal for the club.
Tevez had a turbulent time at City but his influence should not be underestimated. He was key to helping City win the FA Cup in 2011, the first piece of silverware the Blues had managed in 35 years.
Shaun Wright-Phillips opened the scoring, finishing neatly after Stephen Ireland’s through ball, before Tevez headed home from a corner.
That goal got him going – and he went on to score 73 goals in 148 games.
4 2014 Palace 0 City 2
Probably the most important game on this list. Liverpool had just been beaten at home to Chelsea in the day’s early kick-off, meaning a win for City would put them in control of the title race with three games left to play.
The City fans were singing loudly before the game had even begin, sensing the title was theirs.
It could have been a nervy 90 minutes, but Edin Dzeko’s header after four minutes from Yaya Toure’s beautifully flighted ball into the box settled Manuel Pellegrini’s side, who were then utterly dominant for the remainder of the match.
Toure himself added another with a curling effort from 15 yards just before half time after a flowing move. Game over.
The result meant City moved three points behind Liverpool with a game in hand and a far superior goal difference. They would go on and lift the title on the final day, finishing two points ahead of the Merseysiders.
That win at Palace was a key moment.
5 2015 Palace 0 City 1
Having won their opening four matches of the 2016-16 season without conceding a goal, City went to Selhurst Park looking to continue their exceptional start. Their previous games had seen them wipe the floor with their opponents, including champions Chelsea. They were playing with speed, ingenuity and dynamism. Some were ready to hand them the title already.
Palace provided a stiffer test and City struggled to open them up. However, the introduction of teenager Kelechi Iheanacho saw their 100 per cent start remain intact. He came on with just moments remaining and within seconds of his arrival he had scored from close range.
There were wild celebrations on the pitch and in the away end as City made it five from five. Iheanacho’s career had taken off and the goal gave us an insight into what would follow from the young Nigerian. He’s now bagged 18 goals in 46 games for the club.
