Premier League: Manchester City thrash Crystal Palace 4-1, Haaland and Cherki shine
London, August 29
Erling Haaland and Rayan Cherki scored twice each as Manchester City defeated Crystal Palace 4-1 at Selhurst Park to maintain their winning start to the Premier League campaign.
Haaland opened the scoring in the 17th minute, rising above Chris Richards to head Antoine Semenyo's cross over goalkeeper Dean Henderson.
City dominated the opening stages and went close through Elliot Anderson and Haaland, while Phil Foden missed two good chances to extend the lead before the break.
Cherki doubled City's advantage in the 54th minute after brilliantly evading two defenders before finding the bottom-left corner.
Palace pulled one back just two minutes later when Yeremy Pino's free-kick struck the crossbar before rebounding off City goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma and into the net.
However, City's response was immediate, with Cherki restoring the two-goal cushion within three minutes. The France international found space on the edge of the box and saw his effort take a deflection before beating Henderson.
Haaland completed his brace in the 84th minute, firing into the near post after receiving a well-weighted pass from Foden.
The result sees Manchester City move to the top of the Premier League table with maximum points from their opening two games. Crystal Palace, meanwhile, remain 20th as new manager Pierre Sage continues to wait for his first league point.
City also handed Premier League debuts to Ayyoub Bouaddi and Ryan McAidoo as they comfortably saw out the victory in the closing stages.
— ANI
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