Rayan Cherki needed five minutes to turn 1-0 into 3-1, and Selhurst Park never got near him
A week after changing the Bournemouth game off the bench, Cherki scored twice in five minutes. Haaland got the other two. Crystal Palace had 27.8% of the ball and one shot on target all night.
Last Sunday Rayan Cherki came off the bench with six minutes left and set up both goals that beat Bournemouth. This time he had the whole second half, and Crystal Palace never found anyone to stand in front of him.
On 54 he came through the Palace defence and finished without hurrying. On 59 he was given space in midfield and hit it again. Two goals, five minutes, game over — and Jamie Redknapp on the first one: "He painted a masterpiece. He is a genius."
Haaland at both ends of the night
Erling Haaland opened his season on 17 minutes, heading in an Antoine Semenyo cross, and closed the scoring on 84 with the kind of finish that no longer counts as news.
In between, City could have had more. Phil Foden missed two clear chances inside eight minutes either side of the half-hour. Nine of their eighteen shots were on target.
Palace managed one. Their goal, on 56, came from a Yeremy Pino free-kick that curled onto the bar and came back off Gianluigi Donnarumma's back — a Donnarumma own goal, and the only thing that separated Palace from a blank sheet.
Cherki does not want to come off
Asked afterwards about being substituted, Cherki was honest about it: "When I see Enzo wants to change me, I don't like that." On this evidence Maresca will not have to make that call very often.
Palace's best moment came on 35, when Tyrick Mitchell headed the chance of their evening well wide. Adam Wharton kept trying to build something. There was not much to build with — 234 completed passes to City's 721 tells you where the game was played.
Match facts
- 17' — Erling Haaland (Manchester City), header from an Antoine Semenyo cross
- 54' — Rayan Cherki (Manchester City)
- 56' — Gianluigi Donnarumma (own goal), off a Yeremy Pino free-kick that hit the bar
- 59' — Rayan Cherki (Manchester City)
- 84' — Erling Haaland (Manchester City)
- Crystal Palace finished with one shot on target
| Stat | Crystal Palace | Manchester City |
|---|---|---|
| Possession | 27.8% | 72.2% |
| Total shots | 9 | 18 |
| Shots on target | 1 | 9 |
| Passes completed | 234 (82.4%) | 721 (92.6%) |
| Expected goals (xG) | 0.57 | 1.45 |
| Corners | 2 | 6 |
| Fouls conceded | 8 | 10 |
| Offsides | 3 | 0 |
| Yellow cards | 1 | 2 |
What's next
Manchester City open matchweek 2 top of the table on six points with a goal difference of +4, the only side in the division with two wins. Crystal Palace are bottom on nought from two, with one goal scored and six conceded — and the rest of the round still to play behind them.
Both wait out the international break. Palace host Ipswich Town on Saturday 12 September, which is as winnable as their fixture list gets right now. City go to Old Trafford the next day for the derby.
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