Manchester City made light work of Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park, running out 4-1 winners on Friday night thanks to a scintillating attacking display led by Rayan Cherki and Erling Haaland. The victory gives Enzo Maresca back-to-back wins in his first competitive matches in charge, following last week's narrower success against Bournemouth.
Haaland, wearing a black armband in tribute to the late Norwegian King Harald V, opened the scoring in the 17th minute with a looping header from Antoine Semenyo's cross, beating a helpless Dean Henderson. Palace, under new boss Pierre Sage on his home debut, had shown early promise and even forced a save from Gianluigi Donnarumma, but the concession set the tone for the evening.
The hosts continued to probe before the break, with Tyrick Mitchell missing a clear header from an Adam Wharton delivery, but City's control of the game grew after half-time. The decisive spell arrived in the second half when Cherki, on the back of a promising run of form, danced past several Palace defenders following a pass from Phil Foden and slipped the ball beyond Henderson in the 54th minute.
Palace hit back almost immediately when Yeremy Pino's free-kick struck the post and deflected in off Donnarumma for an own goal, briefly reigniting hope inside Selhurst Park. However, City responded within three minutes as Cherki struck again, this time with a fierce effort from range that took a slight deflection off Chris Richards before beating Henderson for his second of the night.
Haaland put the finishing touch on the rout with six minutes remaining, latching onto another slick City passing sequence to lift the ball over Henderson and make it 4-1. The result means City have now scored in bulk in consecutive matches and sit with maximum points from their opening two league fixtures, while Palace remain without a point after two games.
Speaking after the match, Maresca praised Cherki's all-round contribution rather than focusing solely on his goals.