Rayan Cherki and Erling Haaland fire Manchester City to 4-1 Palace rout
Manchester City maintained their perfect start under Enzo Maresca as Rayan Cherki and Erling Haaland each scored twice in a convincing 4-1 win at Crystal Palace.
Manchester City continued their impressive start under new manager Enzo Maresca with a commanding 4-1 victory over Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Friday night.
The result gives City six points from their opening two Premier League matches and provides another early indication that Maresca’s side can compete at the top end of the division.
Haaland opened the scoring in the 17th minute, rising above Chris Richards to head Antoine Semenyo’s cross beyond Dean Henderson.
The Cityzens had opportunities to extend their advantage before the interval but failed to capitalise on several openings, leaving Palace with hope of a comeback.
That hope disappeared shortly after half-time when Cherki produced the first of his two outstanding goals, weaving through several defenders before calmly finishing beyond Henderson.
Palace briefly reduced the deficit when Yéremy Pino’s curling free-kick struck the crossbar and rebounded into Gianluigi Donnarumma, leaving the goalkeeper credited with an own goal.
City responded almost immediately, however, with Cherki finding space outside the Palace area before unleashing a shot that took a deflection and flew past Henderson.
Haaland then completed his brace six minutes from full-time, finishing a move involving Marc Guehi and Phil Foden to put the result beyond doubt.
The victory marks City’s second consecutive league win since Maresca replaced Pep Guardiola, while Palace have now suffered defeats in both of their opening matches under Pierre Sage.
Cherki’s performance was the standout feature of an attacking display that also highlighted City’s ability to respond quickly whenever Palace threatened to build momentum.
