Manchester City's second string beat Crystal Palace 3-0 at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday, moving to 77 points and two points behind Premier League leaders Arsenal with two games remaining. Manager Pep Guardiola made six changes from the side that beat Brentford 3-0 in the previous match, leaving Erling Haaland and Jeremy Doku among the substitutes.

Antoine Semenyo opened the scoring in the 32nd minute, finishing past Dean Henderson after a back pass from Phil Foden. Eight minutes later, Foden assisted Omar Marmoush for his third Premier League goal of the season. Savinho added a late goal after Rayan Cherki carried the ball from his own half before passing. John Stones came on as a substitute late in the second half.

The result extended City's unbeaten run in the league to 14 games. They hold a goal difference advantage of one over Arsenal, having scored seven more goals than the London club, who have not won the Premier League title since 2004.

"When the schedule is so tight, everybody is fit; everybody needs to help," Guardiola said after the match. He declined to comment on West Ham's stoppage-time equaliser against Arsenal on Sunday, which was ruled out after a VAR review in Arsenal's 1-0 win, saying he was focused on the Crystal Palace fixture.

"It's a team game at the end of the day. If you want to win titles and trophies, it's about a full squad and everyone playing their part," Foden said. "I've experienced it many times, when the game doesn't go your way. We just have to keep pushing and doing our part."

City face Chelsea in the FA Cup final at Wembley on Saturday, having already won the League Cup earlier in the season. Arsenal travel to Burnley next Monday, with City hosting Bournemouth, who are chasing Champions League qualification, the following day. On May 24, Arsenal will travel to Crystal Palace and City will host Aston Villa.