With Pierre Sage in the Palace hot seat for the first time at Selhurst Park, the Eagles nearly made a dream start inside two minutes, as Eddie Nketiah’s angled effort was saved at the near post by Gianluigi Donnarumma.
That sparked the visitors into life, and they went close themselves shortly after, with Elliot Anderson seeing a long-range strike parried away by Dean Henderson before Erling Haaland’s rebound was blocked in the six-yard box.
Not to be denied, the Norwegian talisman broke the deadlock for City in the 17th minute, as Antoine Semenyo’s inswinging delivery was expertly directed into the top corner by Haaland for his first goal of the new campaign.
Having gone unbeaten in all seven of their PL away games in London last season (W4, D3), the Cityzens should’ve doubled their lead before the half-hour mark, only for Phil Foden to twice miss the target with glorious chances in the box.
Palace remained a threat at the other end, though, and Sage’s men went close to an equaliser before HT, as Tyrick Mitchell glanced a free header wide at the back post.
City started the second period on the front foot, and their attacking intent was rewarded with a second goal in the 54th minute when Foden picked out Cherki, who jinked his way past a couple of challenges before rolling a composed finish beyond Henderson.
The visitors’ two-goal advantage was short-lived, however, as a stunning long-range free-kick from Yéremy Pino cannoned off the post and against the back of Donnarumma to give Palace a route back into the contest.
Undeterred, Enzo Maresca’s side restored their cushion shortly before the hour mark, with Cherki’s powerful strike from range taking a nick off Chris Richards and flying into the top corner.
That proved to be a killer blow for the hosts’ chances of mounting a comeback, as City took control of proceedings, introducing new signing Ayyoub Bouaddi for his debut in the final 10 minutes.
The visitors added late gloss to the scoreline through Haaland, who finished emphatically into the roof of the net from a clever Foden pass, extending the Eagles’ winless run in the PL to nine matches (D2, L6).
Flashscore Man of the Match: Rayan Cherki (Manchester City)
