Rayan Cherki did his best Lionel Messi impression, producing moments of pure magic as Enzo Maresca’s Manchester City stayed perfect in the Premier League with a 4-1 win over Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park.
First, the Frenchman, sporting the same No 10 shirt as the diminutive Argentine legend, weaved his way through the Crystal Palace defence before poking the ball past a rooted Dean Henderson to double City’s lead. Erling Haaland had opened the scoring in the first half with his first goal of the season.
Despite an exciting start in Pierre Sage’s first game at Selhurst Park, Haaland towered above Chris Richards to head in the opening goal...READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE .
As the applause for Cherki’s opener began to fade, Yeremy Pino added to the display of individualism, beating a wall from 25 yards out and curling a free-kick that struck the bar. The ball rebounded off Gianluigi Donnarumma and therefore went down as an own goal for the Italian shotstopper.
Five minutes after his super solo effort, Cherki decided to take the sting out of Palace’s newly found momentum, instantly responding to their goal with an audacious strike that deflected past Henderson.
Though Palace came close throughout, with their finest chance falling to Tyrick Mitchell, who fluffed his lines with a close-range header, Haaland’s second, a rasping finish past Henderson late on, ended the contest. Palace stay in search of a first win under new boss Sage.
Maresca’s City, meanwhile, made it two from two in the league, producing a dominant scoreline much more akin to what his predecessor would regularly provide.
