(Reuters) - Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini blamed English football's traditional Christmas fixture pile-up for his team's off-colour performance in a 1-0 Premier League win over struggling Crystal Palace on Saturday.
A 66th-minute strike by Bosnian Edin Dzeko settled a closely-fought match in which England goalkeeper Joe Hart made a string of good saves to help extend City's home league record to 10 wins out of 10 and send them top of the table.
