Manchester City thrash Crystal Palace 4-1 and show their strength in the Premier League

Cherki and Haaland shine as Manchester City thrash Crystal Palace 4-1

Manchester City found exactly what they needed at Selhurst Park after a hard-fought opening day in the Premier League.

With Rayan Cherki and Erling Haaland in inspired form, the Citizens beat Crystal Palace 4-1 on Friday and maintained their 100% record across the competition's opening two rounds.

Haaland scored twice.

Cherki also scored twice.

And Palace's only goal came in bizarre fashion, after a Yéremy Pino free-kick hit the crossbar before bouncing off Gianluigi Donnarumma and into the net.

More than the result, however, the match showed a Manchester City side becoming increasingly comfortable with Enzo Maresca's ideas.

The team controlled possession, pinned Palace back in their own half and, particularly in the second half, turned territorial dominance into clear-cut chances.

After having to find a late winner against Bournemouth, City left no room for drama this time.

First half: Haaland opens the scoring at Selhurst Park

Crystal Palace started the match looking to go toe-to-toe with Manchester City.

Pierre Sage kept his aggressive structure, and the hosts created a few openings in the early stages, particularly through Adam Wharton's positioning and movement down the flanks.

But Manchester City quickly took control.

Six minutes in, from a short corner, Elliot Anderson found space to shoot from outside the box.

Dean Henderson produced an excellent save.

Haaland followed up on the rebound, but the Palace defence managed to block the effort.

Moments later, Semenyo appeared again on the right and delivered a cross into the box, but the defence managed to clear.

The goal felt like a matter of time.

And it arrived in the 17th minute.

Semenyo found space on the left and delivered a precise cross.

Haaland appeared between the defenders.

The Norwegian attacked the ball and headed it over Henderson.

Crystal Palace 0-1 Manchester City.

It was Haaland's first Premier League goal of the season.

It also added another chapter to his excellent record against Crystal Palace: the striker has now scored in all six of his Premier League appearances against the Eagles.

The goal increased City's control even further.

Foden had a good opportunity in the 20th minute, receiving a pass from Anderson and shooting first time, but he sent the effort over the bar.

Cherki was also heavily involved in City's attacking moves, while Semenyo provided width and depth on the right.

Palace, however, refused to go away.

In the 32nd minute, Jørgen Strand Larsen found himself inside the box and headed wide.

Moments later, Adam Wharton found Tyrick Mitchell making a run into the box, but the full-back also failed to hit the target.

They were signs that Palace could still find gaps in City's structure.

But they lacked the finishing touch.

Before half-time, Cherki had another good opportunity after combining with Semenyo, forcing Henderson into another save.

City went into the break ahead.

And with the feeling that they could have added to their lead.

Second half: Cherki takes centre stage as City pull away

Crystal Palace returned from the break looking to increase the tempo.

Just two minutes after the restart, Mitchell advanced down the left and crossed for Eddie Nketiah, who fired wide.

It was a big opportunity for the hosts.

But Manchester City responded in the best possible way.

In the 54th minute, Foden won the ball back in a dangerous area and found Cherki.

The Frenchman received the ball near the box, drove at the defence with tremendous quality and finished with precision.

Crystal Palace 0-2 Manchester City.

It was the moment Cherki began to turn the match into his own show.

But Palace were handed an unexpected opportunity to get back into the game just two minutes later.

Yéremy Pino struck a powerful free-kick.

The ball hit the crossbar.

It then bounced off Donnarumma's back and ended up in the net.

Crystal Palace 1-2 Manchester City.

A completely accidental own goal.

For a few moments, the game opened up again.

But City responded immediately.

In the 59th minute, Cherki received the ball again just outside the box.

The Frenchman shot.

The ball took a deflection off Chris Richards, looped over Henderson and nestled into the back of the net.

Crystal Palace 1-3 Manchester City.

Two goals in five minutes.

And two goals from Cherki that perfectly summed up his performance: creativity, ball carrying, technique and the ability to make the difference.

Sofascore rated Cherki as the best player on the pitch, with an 8.6 rating.

Palace still tried to respond.

Pino looked for Nketiah on several occasions, while the Eagles continued to try to exploit spaces out wide.

But City's territorial dominance kept growing.

Maresca's side began circulating the ball with confidence, while Palace found it increasingly difficult to play their way out of their own half.

In the 81st minute, Maresca used the comfortable lead to bring Ayyoub Bouaddi onto the pitch.

The young Moroccan, signed from Lille after an excellent World Cup, made his Premier League debut.

And there was still time for one more goal.

In the 84th minute, Foden received the ball and drove towards the box.

The Englishman found Haaland on the left.

The Norwegian finished first time, giving Henderson no chance.

Crystal Palace 1-4 Manchester City.

Haaland's second goal.

Cherki also scored twice

And a victory that was effectively sealed.

A City side much closer to what Maresca wants

The final score could suggest a completely one-sided match.

It wasn't quite like that.

Crystal Palace had their moments, particularly at the beginning of both halves, and managed to expose some spaces in Manchester City's structure.

But the difference came in City's ability to turn possession into control.

The numbers are clear.

Manchester City: 72% possession, 18 shots and 9 on target.

Crystal Palace: 28% possession, 9 shots and just 1 on target.

City also finished with a 74-34 advantage in final-third entries and 33-13 in touches inside the box. The xG was 1.45 to 0.57 in favour of the visitors.

The visitors also recorded 779 passes, compared with Palace's 281, completing 721 of them.

More important, however, was the way those numbers came about.

City weren't simply moving the ball around.

They were able to get the ball into dangerous areas.

They created overloads out wide.

And they repeatedly found Cherki between the lines.

The Frenchman finished with 58 completed passes from 63 attempts, three chances created, three successful dribbles and three shots on target, in addition to his two goals.

Phil Foden also played an important role.

Even without scoring, he created three chances and finished with two assists.

Semenyo, meanwhile, provided the assist for Haaland's opener and created three chances.

Manchester City's attack finally clicked.

What remains:

For Enzo Maresca, the victory represents more than three points.

Manchester City began the season under enormous expectations following Pep Guardiola's departure.

The defeat to Arsenal in the Community Shield increased the doubts.

The narrow win over Bournemouth did not eliminate all of them.

But the performance at Selhurst Park offers a much more convincing answer.

City controlled.

Created.

Pressed.

And were extremely clinical.

The structure also showed some of the changes introduced by Maresca.

The team alternated between 4-2-3-1 and 4-1-4-1, with Gvardiol stepping inside and Elliot Anderson taking on an important role at the base of the build-up.

There are still questions to resolve in midfield.

Rodri and Bernardo Silva left a huge void in terms of control and creativity, and Maresca is still searching for the best combination to fill those roles.

But, at least at Selhurst Park, City showed that they can find answers.

On the other side, Crystal Palace leave the pitch with a more concerning situation.

Pierre Sage is still building his team.

Palace competed.

They were aggressive.

They tried to play on the front foot.

But they could not turn their spells of superiority into goals.

After two rounds, the Eagles have 20 shots in total, just five on target and 1.96 xG, but only one goal scored.

The departure of important players and the uncertainty surrounding the squad are also weighing on the team.

The defence lost Maxence Lacroix to Chelsea, while Jean-Philippe Mateta was unavailable and Ismaïla Sarr also missed the match and apparently could also leave amid ongoing transfer rumours.

There is work to do.

The result was 4-1.

But perhaps the most important message was another:

Manchester City are beginning to find their new identity.