Manchester City made it two Premier League wins from two by beating Crystal Palace 4-1 at Selhurst Park on Friday, with Erling Haaland and Rayan Cherki both scoring twice.
The result leaves Manchester City top of the table on six points, at least temporarily, after their opening-day victory over Bournemouth. Crystal Palace, meanwhile, remain without a point following a second successive defeat, having lost 2-0 to Everton in their first match.
Manchester City, managed by Enzo Maresca, took control of the game when Haaland opened the scoring after 17 minutes. The Norway striker met Antoine Semenyo’s cross and rose above the Palace defence to direct a header beyond goalkeeper Dean Henderson.
Palace struggled to contain the visitors’ attacking movement, although they remained within one goal of Manchester City until the early stages of the second half.
Cherki doubled the advantage nine minutes after the interval. Phil Foden found the France international inside the penalty area, where Cherki moved past several defenders before guiding a left-footed shot into the bottom corner.
Crystal Palace responded almost immediately, reducing the deficit two minutes later with an own goal. Yeremy Pino’s free-kick struck the crossbar before rebounding onto Manchester City goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma and then crossing the line.
The goal briefly gave the home side hope of mounting a comeback, but Manchester City restored their two-goal advantage in the 59th minute.
Cherki claimed his second goal of the evening after receiving a pass from Josko Gvardiol. He created room outside the penalty area and beat Henderson with a low strike to put the visitors 3-1 ahead.
Haaland then matched Cherki’s achievement in the final stages. In the 84th minute, Foden released the striker with a forward pass, and Haaland finished from close range with a powerful shot to complete the scoring.
The victory continues Manchester City’s encouraging start to the new Premier League campaign. They had begun the season with a 2-1 home win over Bournemouth and now have maximum points from their first two fixtures.
For Crystal Palace, the defeat leaves them at the bottom of the early standings. They must now recover quickly after conceding four goals at home and failing to register a point from either of their opening matches.