Leicester City’s torrid Premier League form continued as missed chances were punished in their 2-0 loss to Crystal Palace.

It was another match where a decent performance went unrewarded, with Ruud van Nistelrooy’s side now on a run of six straight league defeats. Jean-Philippe Mateta and Marc Guehi did the damage with second-half finishes.

City had 21 shots, the most they’ve had in a Premier League fixture this season, but Jamie Vardy missed two golden first-half opportunities, with Boubakary Soumare hitting the bar in the second half.

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Having played a full-strength side in the FA Cup thumping of QPR, there weren’t many changes for van Nistelrooy to make for the Premier League’s return. He opted for just one, with fit-again Jannik Vestergaard returning but with Conor Coady dropping out for the first time under the Dutchman. Wout Faes kept his spot.

Perhaps buoyed by that FA Cup victory, City were quick out of the blocks. Within 45 seconds, Facundo Buonanotte pinched the ball in the Palace box and set up a chance for Vardy, whose effort was blocked by Marc Guehi. Barely two minutes later, Vardy again tried his luck, hitting a bouncing ball just wide from 18 yards.

City were controlling the ball and moving it well through the lines to the frustration of Palace boss Oliver Glasner, who was visibly infuriated in his dugout. Eventually, the big chance, and it fell to the man City would have wanted it to.

Stephy Mavididi burst away from his man and threaded a ball through to Vardy, who had timed his run perfectly. Through on goal, he didn’t get his touch right to set up a cool finish with his right foot, so went for power with his weaker left, blasting straight at Dean Henderson.

City’s domination of possession was limiting the Palace chances, but so often this season they have found a way to shoot themselves in the foot. They nearly did again on the half-hour mark when Victor Kristiansen’s clearance was charged down by Daniel Munoz and fell straight to Mateta unmarked in the box, only for the Frenchman to fire over.

The front three of Buonanotte, Mavididi, and Bilal El Khannouss were playing well for City, producing flowing forward moves, and they combined to set up another big opportunity for Vardy, Mavididi dribbling through Munoz and crossing, the number nine unconvincing in his effort, swinging his left leg at the ball and blazing over.

As has been hammered home, you pay for missed chances in the Premier League. Seven minutes into the second half, City let Ismaila Sarr run through the heart of their midfield and then play a pass through the middle of their defence. Mateta peeled off Vestergaard, rounded Jakub Stolarczyk and finished.

All of a sudden, Palace were the team on top. They were looking confident and City needed Stolarczyk to save at Tyrick Mitchell’s feet.

They needed a spark and they came in the form of an interesting triple change. Withdrawing Harry Winks, El Khannouss and Buonanotte for Oliver Skipp, Kasey McAteer and Patson Daka brought a smattering of boos from the stands, but the chances came thick and fast afterwards.

Within seconds, Daka saw a driven shot hit the side-netting. Minutes later, Soumare went within inches of his first City goal, latching onto McAteer’s cutback and floating a shot onto the crossbar.

Again, City were punished. In their first foray for 10 minutes, Palace won a free-kick that was clipped to the back post, where Guehi beat McAteer to the ball and volleyed high into the net.

Jakub Stolarczyk: His bouncing pass put Kristiansen in trouble for Mateta’s first-half chance, but otherwise he made good decisions with his feet. Wasn’t at fault for either goal, while dived bravely down low to deny Mitchell in the second half. 6

James Justin: In front of new right-back signing Coulibaly, he had one of his best all-around performances of the season. He kept Eze and Mitchell quiet, defending stoutly and covering spaces well, and in attack he put balls into the right areas. 7

Wout Faes: A strong enough showing to justify his inclusion over Coady. He stepped forward well to intercept at times and passed reasonably well, if not as adventurously as he can do. He didn’t make any overt mistakes either. 7

Jannik Vestergaard: That’s now one win in 18 Premier League starts as a City player for the Dane and Mateta peeled off him far too easily for the Palace opener. He tackled well on occasion, but his passing was a little negative, to the frustration of the crowd. 5

Victor Kristiansen: Put in a crunching tackle early on to get the crowd roaring and in his general play he was decent in all aspects, while he put in one great second-half cross. But it was his charged-down clearance that nearly led to a goal for Palace in the first half. 6

Harry Winks: He was terrific in the early stages, controlling the game and turning on the ball to get City playing forward, then playing cute passes through the lines to get the front four on the move and looking dangerous. He wasn’t quite as influential in the second half. 7

Boubakary Soumare: A topsy-turvy game for the Frenchman. There were some excellent moments, including those trademark surges from midfield and a shot against the crossbar. But he stood by idly as Sarr raced past for the first Palace goal, and his passing was lazy at times. 6

Facundo Buonanotte: There were plenty of nice forward passes and good link-up with his fellow attackers, while he did his fair share of defensive work. But while he dribbled really well to get City out of trouble, he then ran into tight areas and lost the ball. 6

Bilal El Khannouss: He was supremely confident on the ball, sometimes to his detriment, as he tried too hard to make something happen and took shots from the wrong angles. But he looked most likely to create danger for City and his general play was very good. 7

Stephy Mavididi: He was selfish in his decision-making in the fast breaks early on, but he learned quickly, and he produced a superb pass and a sublime piece of skill to set up Vardy’s two big first-half chances. He kept pushing, but Palace slowly shut him down. 7

Jamie Vardy: Vardy missing chances is always better than Vardy not having chances. But he forced himself onto his wrong foot for the one-on-one, and then smashed it at Henderson, while his volleyed effort was a weak one. He’s better than that. 5

Oliver Skipp: Played some tidy football when he first came on, his first-time passes helping City to create. But he wasn’t good enough to break down Palace once they took a two-goal lead and sat back. 5

Kasey McAteer: He created three chances in five minutes after coming on, but he then went quiet. At the back, he gave away the free-kick and then lost Guehi at it. 5

Patson Daka: He received the ball well in spaces and connected play well. He had one early shot into the side-netting, but his threat died down shortly after. 6

Jordan Ayew: He got on the ball often against his former club as City look to fight back. However, given the urgency of the situation, he took far too long to do things. 5

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