Crystal Palace boss Alan Pardew praises clinical Manchester City

Crystal Palace boss Alan Pardew has conceded that his side were beaten by the better team in their 5-1 loss to Manchester City in the fourth round of the Capital One Cup.

Wilfried Bony and Kevin De Bruyne put the Citizens ahead in the first half, while Kelechi Iheanacho, Yaya Toure and Manu Garcia netted to secure an emphatic victory for Manuel Pellegrini's men, although Damien Delaney did get a consolation strike for the Eagles.

Pardew told the club's official website: "Almost every time City had a chance they punished us, particularly in the first 60 minutes and that was very much the story.

"I know some of the fans had trouble getting here tonight, so we'd like to say thank you and I hope we can repay them later in the season."

The loss was Palace's third defeat on the spin in all competitions.