Cherki and Haaland each score twice as Manchester City beat Crystal Palace
Rayan Cherki and Erling Haaland each scored twice as Manchester City defeated Crystal Palace at Crystal Palace in the Premier League on 28 August 2026.
Enzo Maresca, a manager described in the source as famed for his obsessive positional control, allowed Cherki freedom and the Frenchman delivered a two-goal display in what the report calls a strong start to his second year in England. Cherki had been influential off the bench against Bournemouth last week with two assists, and after Saturday he shrugged and said his first-half performance was "so shit". Maresca offered a contrasting assessment: “His performance for me was very good, not because of the two goals, but the way he worked off the ball,” City’s manager said. “He has to press. His game was complete. He loves football. We know how good he is. We know the quality he has.”
Phil Foden also impressed and Haaland finished with an emphatic double, a contribution that Maresca felt showed his post-Pep team had moved on from their Community Shield debacle. The Italian acknowledged an early issue with pressing, saying: “We struggled the first five, 10 minutes, because we were pressing in the wrong way,” the Italian said. “After that we were in control.”
City face midfield reconfiguration following the exits of Rodri and Bernardo Silva, and the club have added Ayyoub Bouaddi from Lille for £86m, the fee noted in the report for an 18-year-old who impressed at the World Cup for Morocco. The piece states there is room for another arrival in midfield to supplement the squad.
Maresca again experimented with personnel and shape: the attempt to use Marc Guéhi in the engine room was ended so he returned to central defence, £116m Elliot Anderson operated as the sole pivot, Nico O’Reilly was pushed high in a 4-1-4-1 system, and Josko Gvardiol inverted from left-back, a move compared in the article to Marc Cucurella’s role under Maresca at Chelsea.
Crystal Palace were described as having an uncertain summer and retained the structure of Oliver Glasner’s 3-4-2-1 under Pierre Sage. Jørgen Strand Larsen led the line in the absence of Jean-Philippe Mateta, who may be out for four weeks; Ismaïla Sarr was unavailable, Daniel Muñoz was named on the bench amid reported interest from Nottingham Forest, and the defence has lost Maxence Lacroix, sold to Chelsea.
Match action began early, with Adam Wharton sweeping a ball through for Eddie Nketiah to test Gianluigi Donnarumma in the second minute, and chances for Daichi Kamada and Tyrick Mitchell followed as Palace sought to play on the front foot. City took the lead in the 17th minute when, as reported, Antoine Semenyo crossed from the left and Haaland found space to loop a header over Dean Henderson. Cherki restored City's control with a first-half goal described as a little prod with the outside of his left foot after a mazy run, finishing after evading Jaydee Canvot and holding off Chris Richards before using Takehiro Tomiyasu as a shield. Palace briefly drew level when Yéremy Pino’s free-kick hit the woodwork and bounced in off Donnarumma for an own goal, but Cherki scored again in the 59th minute with a fierce 20-yard shot that flicked off Richards and deceived Henderson. City introduced Bouaddi for his debut as Anderson was withdrawn, Foden assisted Haaland, and the report states Haaland has scored in all six of his league games against Palace.
Manchester City remain active in the transfer market, with Enzo Fernández, described in the report as "desperate to leave Chelsea, is the top target before Tuesday’s deadline."