Manchester City Dominates Crystal Palace 4-1 with Haaland and Cherki Braces

Rayan Cherki hit a ruthless five-minute double and Erling Haaland added his own brace as Manchester City crushed Crystal Palace 4-1 in London on Friday to keep their perfect Premier League start intact.

City’s leading man from last season wasted no time getting going again. After 17 minutes, Haaland peeled away in the box and met a cross with a controlled header, guiding the ball home to open his account for the campaign and silence Selhurst Park.

City were in control without ever quite killing the game before the break. That changed once Cherki took charge.

Early in the second half, the Frenchman produced the moment of the night. Slaloming through a crowd of Palace defenders, he weaved his way into space and, from close range, stabbed the ball past the keeper to double the visitors’ lead with a touch of street‑football flair.

Palace, though, refused to fold. Almost straight from the restart they were back in it thanks to a bizarre, brutal twist for City’s goalkeeper. Yeremy Pino whipped a brilliant free kick against the crossbar; the ball flew back out, smashed into the back of a helpless Gianluigi Donnarumma and bounced over the line. A flash of hope for the home side, and a goal that belonged as much to bad luck as to Pino’s technique.

The optimism barely lasted two minutes.

Cherki, brimming with confidence, picked up the ball just outside the area and let fly. His shot took a deflection, wrong-footing Dean Henderson and restoring City’s two-goal cushion. It was the first Premier League brace of Cherki’s career, and it felt like a statement: City have found another match-winner.

From there, the champions played with the assurance of a side that knew the job was done. Palace chased, but the gaps widened.

Six minutes from time, Haaland applied the final touch to a dominant night. Shifting the ball onto his left foot inside the box, he drilled a low finish to complete his brace and City’s four-goal haul, underlining the gulf between the teams.

Two games, two wins, six points. City sit on top of the league again, and with Cherki joining Haaland in the goals, the early signs are ominous for the rest of the Premier League.