Guardiola impressed with fighting spirit as City’s title push gathers momentum

Head coach praises ‘real leader’ Dias as defence holds firm

Win at Selhurst Park extends Manchester City’s run to five

Pep Guardiola has warned that Manchester City are growing in resilience after Erling Haaland and Phil Foden secured the side’s fifth win in succession and maintained pressure on the Premier League leaders Arsenal.

City gained revenge for their FA Cup final defeat by Crystal Palace in May with a ruthless 3-0 win at Selhurst Park after they saw off Real Madrid in the Champions League in midweek. It means they have won all five matches since enduring successive defeats against Newcastle and Bayer Leverkusen at the end of November and are back to within two points of Arsenal.