Manchester City 's grip on the Barclays Premier League title was loosened further after a controversial Glenn Murray goal put Crystal Palace on the way to a 2-1 victory . 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 . Crystal Palace striker Glenn Murray ( left ) celebrates after opening the scoring against Manchester City . Crystal Palace ( 4-1-4-1 ) Julian Speroni 7 . Made two good saves of David Silva efforts in the first half and marshalled his defence well . Joel Ward 6 . Has not been out of team all season , made his 100th appearance last night and was reliable as always . Scott Dann 6.5 . Phil Neville thinks he ’ s up there with the best centre backs in the division . Certainly underrated on the evidence of this game , he made a few vital interceptions and played part in the goal . Manchester City appealed for offside but Murray 's first-half goal stood on Monday night . Damien Delaney 6 . Picked up a booking for cutting down Aguero but otherwise solid . Martin Kelly 6 . A lovely low ball into the penalty area in the second minute to almost set up a Palace goal if Zaha could have converted . Joe Ledley 6.5 . Put his body on the line to resist a City onslaught in the first half . James McArthur 8 . A superb , full hearted performance by the midfielder who made several vital clearances . Joe Hart appeals to the officials as Murray celebrates after putting Palace ahead . Wilfried Zaha 6.5 . Should have put Palace ahead in the second minute but sliced shot high and wide of the target . Yannick Bolasie 6 . Might not be renowned for his defending but made an excellent first half tackle on Yaya Toure when the midfielder looked ominous . Jason Puncheon 7.5 . His curling free kick to double Palace ’ s lead was superb , worked tirelessly and made an important first half tackle on Toure . Glenn Murray 8.5 . Against the run of play does not do justice to his 35th minute tap in but it was his fifth in as many games and he was a constant threat in the air , too . Very lucky to get away with a blatant handball . Subs . Sanogo 83 , Souare 84 and Gayle 88 . Manager . Alan Pardew 8 . Is making Newcastle ’ s decision to get rid of him seem even more ridiculous with every passing game . Set up his side to defend deep and try do some damage on the counter attack . 19 points from 10 games . Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure ( right ) hammers home the equaliser . Manchester City ( 4-4-2 ) Joe Hart 6 . Was tested just once in the opening half . Bacary Sagna 6.5 . Right back 300th premier league appearance . Vincent Kompany 6 . Seemed distracted by feelings of injustice after the Palace goal which he deemed to be offside . City striker Sergio Aguero could not find a way through a steadfast Palace defence . Martin Demichelis 6 . Rightly booked for a hefty challenge on Glenn Murray . Gael Clichy 5.5 . He and Sagna struggled to deal with the pace of Bolasie and Zaha and offered little in attack . Jesus Navas 5 . Another game where too many of his passes routinely went astray and replaced by Nasri before the Toure goal . Will have to reassess his pre-match comment that City were still title contenders . Fernandinho 6 . Made a senseless and unnecessary challenge on Glenn Murray to give away the free kick which led to the second goal . City midfielder Fernandinho failed to sparkle at Selhurst Park . Yaya Toure 7 . Was quiet in the opening half and twice prompted wolf whistles with his shots high into the stands at Selhurst Park but his goal was an absolute scorcher . David Silva 7.5 . City ’ s best man , hungry for the ball and characteristically intelligent passing . Forced a couple of saves from Speroni in the first half . Edin Dzeko 5 . A quiet game for the striker who seemed furious at his manager at being replaced by Lampard after 66 minutes but surely he could have no complaints ? The pressure is mounting on Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini . Sergio Aguero 6 . Expert at finding space in a crowded penalty box and hit the post in the first half , just could not find a way through a steadfast Palace defence . Subs . Lampard 66 - 5.5 , Nasri 77 and Milner 88 . Manager . Manuel Pellegrini 5 . Manchester ’ s premier home removal firms might look to clear some space in their diary around the end of May because surely his time at the Etihad is limited . Referee . Michael Oliver 5.5 . A mixed game for the youngest referee in the Barclay ’ s Premier League . He does not lack cojones , backing up his linesman who was probably right to rule Scott Dann and Glenn Murray onside for the goal and dealt well with the excessive protestations of City players . But he missed an obvious Glenn Murray handball in the second half . Samir Nasri gives a thumbs up despite Manchester City 's 2-1 defeat at Palace .
James McArthur was man of the match and scored fifth goal in five games . Midfielder Glenn Murray also put in a superb , full hearted performance . Manuel Pellegrini 's time is surely up after another disappointing defeat . CLICK HERE to read Neil Ashton 's match report .