Rayan Cherki and Erling Haaland shared four goals between them as Manchester City dismantled Crystal Palace 4-1 at Selhurst Park on Friday evening, sending Enzo Maresca’s side to the top of the Premier League with a perfect six points from two games, according to Sky Sports. City controlled from the first whistle, held 72% possession and generated 18 shots to Palace’s nine, with the hosts managing just one on target all night. A brief five-minute spell after the hour mark, when three goals flew in at both ends, effectively sealed the game before Haaland added a fourth with six minutes to play.
Key Moments
- 17′, Erling Haaland opens the scoring, converting a pass from Antoine Semenyo to give City a controlled early lead.
- 54′, Rayan Cherki doubles the advantage on the hour, finishing after a pass from Phil Foden to put the game beyond Palace’s reach.
- 56′, Crystal Palace reduce the deficit when Gianluigi Donnarumma puts through his own net, giving the hosts a brief lifeline.
- 59′, Cherki restores City’s two-goal cushion three minutes later, this time assisted by Josko Gvardiol, killing any Palace momentum before it could build.
- 84′, Haaland completes the scoring and his own brace, again set up by Phil Foden, to confirm the comfortable margin.
Tactical Breakdown
Manchester City were dominant in every measurable sense. Their 72% possession translated into 779 accurate passes at a 93% completion rate, compared to Crystal Palace’s 231. Enzo Maresca’s 4-2-3-1 set up with Phil Foden operating centrally behind Haaland, and it was Foden who finished with two assists, threading passes into dangerous zones throughout the second half. City’s expected goals tally of 1.45 understates the threat they posed, given two of their four goals came from the own goal and a late tap-in once Palace had already been broken open.
The match turned decisively in a five-minute burst between the 54th and 59th minute. Cherki’s first goal, fed by Foden, put the visitors two up and should have been the end of Palace’s resistance. The own goal two minutes later momentarily gave Selhurst Park a pulse, but Cherki and Gvardiol combined almost immediately to restore the two-goal margin. That sequence, 3-1 after 59 minutes, ended the contest as a contest. Maresca made his changes from the 75th minute onward, rotating Mateo Kovacic in for Gvardiol and withdrawing Cherki and Elliot Anderson in the 82nd.
Pierre Sage’s Crystal Palace had little answer for City’s movement and press-resistance. Palace managed just one shot on goal across ninety minutes and an xG of 0.57, a number inflated by the own goal they scored. Their 3-4-2-1 shape gave them compact central lines in the first half, but the wing channels proved repeatedly vulnerable, and substitutions from the 63rd minute onward reflected how thoroughly the game had slipped away. Jørgen Strand Larsen came off at 63 minutes without affecting the scoreline, and the triple change at 68 minutes arrived too late to change the game’s direction.
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Verdict
The win sends Manchester City to the top of the Premier League with six points from two games, ahead of Brighton and Arsenal on goal difference, according to Yahoo Sports. For Crystal Palace, two losses and zero points from their opening two fixtures leaves them in the relegation zone at this very early stage, with Sage’s side needing a rapid response. City’s new-look forward line, with Cherki and Haaland already combining effectively, suggests Maresca’s side will take some stopping as the season develops.
Crystal Palace
Manchester City
Erling Haaland
Phil Foden
Rayan Cherki