Manchester City beat Crystal Palace 4-1 at Selhurst Park in Matchday 2 Premier League fixture

Manchester City defeated Crystal Palace 4-1 at Selhurst Park in London on Friday night in a Matchday 2 Premier League fixture, with Erling Haaland and Rayan Cherki each scoring twice.

City opened the scoring through Erling Haaland’s 17th-minute header. Rayan Cherki put City further ahead in the 54th minute after dribbling past Palace defenders, and Palace immediately halved the deficit when Yeremy Pino’s free-kick rebounded off the crossbar and went in off Gianluigi Donnarumma. Cherki struck again in the 59th minute with a long-range effort that took a slight deflection past Dean Henderson, and Haaland completed the scoring with an 85th-minute goal.

The match began end-to-end, with both Gianluigi Donnarumma and Dean Henderson making saves inside the opening 10 minutes. Pierre Sage instructed his players to attack from kick-off, and Eddie Nketiah tested Donnarumma early, but Manchester City soon regained control of the game’s tempo before opening the scoring.

Marc Guehi, who had been used in midfield against Bournemouth, returned to Selhurst Park deployed in defence while Elliot Anderson partnered Nico O’Reilly in midfield. The change, the report noted, helped Manchester City dominate the midfield battle.

Rayan Cherki, given a starting role by Enzo Maresca, created several chances in the first half and converted two clear opportunities after the break — a dribble-and-finish in the 54th minute and a 59th-minute strike that took a deflection. The article described those goals as decisive in putting the game beyond Palace’s reach.

Phil Foden has started all three competitive fixtures under Maresca and had two presentable chances in the first half that failed to find the target; he did provide the assist for Haaland’s second goal. One social media post about the match read: "If we don’t win today it’s on Phil Foden. how do you miss both these chances completely???? 245k p/w"

Crystal Palace’s attack was weakened by the continued absence of Jean-Philippe Mateta due to injury, leaving Sage to rely on Eddie Nketiah and Jørgen Strand Larsen, neither of whom particularly impressed according to the report. Palace’s solitary goal was recorded as a Gianluigi Donnarumma own goal after Yeremy Pino’s set-piece struck the crossbar and ricocheted in.

Haaland’s 85th-minute strike ensured Manchester City maintained a 100% record in the Premier League after Matchday 2.