City lose ground on Liverpool with shock loss to Crystal Palace

Manchester City's hopes of repeating as Premier League champions may have taken a massive blow Saturday after Pep Guardiola's men suffered a surprising 3-2 defeat to Crystal Palace.

Kevin De Bruyne pulled one back late for the hosts when his attempted cross somehow sneaked inside the far post, leaving Roy Hodgson's side on edge for the final five minutes. But it wasn't enough to avert the loss, leaving City four points behind Liverpool in the title race.

City struck first through Ilkay Gundogan, who rose uncontested in Palace's penalty area to nod home Fabian Delph's lobbed pass after 27 minutes. The German midfielder's opener was quickly canceled out by Jeffrey Schlupp, who waited patiently before firing a left-footed drive across Ederson in goal to level the scoreline.

Andros Townsend gave his side an unexpected advantage just minutes later, pouncing on a loose bouncing ball at the edge of City's 18-yard box. In a candidate for goal of the season, the 27-year-old delivered a venomous first-time volley that fizzled into the upper corner of the Citizens' goal.

Palace captain Luka Milivojevic capped off his side's upset of the defending champions by calmly burying a 51st-minute penalty.

Liverpool edged Wolverhampton 2-0 on Friday and now head into Christmas with firm footing at the peak of the table. Eight of the last 10 sides to lead the Premier League at Christmas went on to win the league. The Reds, however, account for both of those statistical outliers; they failed to convert their table lead into a title in both the 2008-09 and 2013-14 seasons.