C Palace v Man City

The Rayan Cherki and Erling Haaland show sees Manchester City thump Crystal Palace 4‑1, making it two wins from two in the Premier League. With only a one‑goal cushion at the break after Haaland’s header, City shifted up a couple of gears in the second half and Palace simply couldn’t live with them. Cherki doubled the tally within 10 minutes of the restart with a moment of pure genius – dazzling footwork, total composure, and a clinical finish. Palace briefly threatened a twist when Pino’s free‑kick crashed off the woodwork and then Donnarumma to give the home crowd a flicker of hope, but it didn’t last. Cherki then used his weaker right foot to score his first career brace from outside the box, before Haaland added his second with a thumping left‑footed strike at the near post. Maresca’s side outperformed their 1.45 xG, while Palace never generated enough, reflected in their 0.57. Pierre Sage’s men have now lost their opening two league games and face a mountain to climb ahead of Fulham. City host Coventry next, and they look a serious threat going forward. That’s all from us – thanks for joining, and goodnight!

FULL-TIME: CRYSTAL PALACE 1-4 MANCHESTER CITY

Crystal Palace are heading for nine straight Premier League games without a win, stretching back into the tail end of last season – and that run paints a pretty stark picture. It underlines just how much depth they’re going to need if they want to cope with a Europa League campaign on top of their domestic workload.

This is just the second occasion Sage has watched one of his teams ship four, and it’s a harsh reminder of the size of the task in front of him. There’s real work to be done if Palace are to resemble anything like the outfit Oliver Glasner left behind.

A grim sight for Palace – the board goes up, and we’re getting at least five minutes added on.

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Substitution

O'Reilly also makes way, as Braithwaite gets a run out.