Manchester City secured a convincing 4-1 victory over Crystal Palace in the Premier League, fueled by braces from Rayan Cherki and Erling Haaland. The win marks Pep Guardiola’s side’s second consecutive victory, consolidating their position at the top of the league table.
Haaland put City ahead in the 17th minute of the match on Friday (August 28, 2026) with a well-placed header. Early in the second half, French midfielder Rayan Cherki doubled the lead with a sharp finish from inside the box. Crystal Palace briefly pulled one back when Yeremy Pino’s free-kick rebounded off the crossbar and bounced into the net off City goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma for an own goal. However, Cherki restored the two-goal cushion just two minutes later with a deflected long-range strike, marking his first Premier League brace. Haaland capped off the victory in the 84th minute with a left-footed strike to seal the 4-1 result.
Despite netting his first Premier League brace, Rayan Cherki described his performance as merely “so-so,” noting that the fear of being substituted motivated him to push harder.
back-to-back defeats that leave Crystal Palace without a point, midfielder Adam Wharton acknowledged that the team requires more time to fully adapt to new manager Pierre Sage’s tactical system.
