Rayan Cherki produced one of the performances of the Premier League season so far to give Manchester City a comfortable 4-1 win at Crystal Palace on Friday night.
Erling Haaland bookended the scoring with his first and fourth goals of the season, but the night belonged to Cherki, who became only the third player in Premier League history to register a multi-goal and multi-assist contribution across a team’s opening two matches, joining Thierry Henry in 2004-05 and Didier Drogba in 2010-11.
Haaland breaks the deadlock
City were the better side from the off and went ahead in the 17th minute when Antoine Semenyo, a constant menace down the left throughout the evening, delivered a teasing ball across the box that Haaland met with a perfectly timed header.
It was his ninth goal in as many Premier League appearances against Palace and the milestone strike that brought up City’s 2000th goal in the competition.
Phil Foden then fashioned two clear opportunities to double the lead before the interval and passed up both, prompting a few groans from the travelling support who have not yet seen the best of the England international in Maresca’s system.
Palace had their moments, Adam Wharton drove forward intelligently throughout the half and Edward Nketiah forced Gianluigi Donnarumma into a sharp stop in the opening minutes, but City went in at the break with control and a one-goal advantage.
Cherki takes over
The first ten minutes of the second half were breathless. Cherki put City two ahead nine minutes after the restart, gliding through a series of challenges before finding the bottom corner with his left foot after Foden’s incisive ball through the lines.
Almost immediately Palace were back in it, Yeremi Pino stepping over a centrally placed free kick and lashing a wicked strike that cleared the wall, crashed off the post and deflected off the unfortunate Donnarumma and into the net.
Elliot Anderson had earned the booking that led to the free kick in the first place, and he watched as the goal that followed suddenly threatened to change the match.
It lasted less than three minutes. Cherki received the ball on the edge of the area and this time used his right foot, a deflection off Chris Richards taking the pace off his effort but looping it cruelly past Dean Henderson.
Haaland puts the gloss on
Foden made amends for his first-half profligacy in the 84th minute, threading a perfectly weighted pass into Haaland’s feet inside the area.
The Norwegian needed no second invitation and tucked his finish inside the near post to make it four and put a flattering sheen on what had been a thoroughly comfortable performance.
The closing stages brought two moments of individual promise. Ryan McAidoo, 18 years old and getting his first taste of Premier League action after coming on for Cherki, drove through midfield and went desperately close with a left-footed effort that skimmed past the far post.
