Manchester City pulled clear of Crystal Palace in the second half, with Rayan Cherki and Erling Haaland each scoring twice in a convincing win. Cherki’s two goals, following his influential substitute display against Bournemouth, underlined his growing importance to Enzo Maresca’s side, while Haaland’s double provided further evidence that City have recovered from their Community Shield disappointment.

Haaland opened the scoring in the 17th minute with a looping header from Antoine Semenyo’s cross, although Palace had created early opportunities through Eddie Nketiah, Daichi Kamada and Tyrick Mitchell. Palace remain on zero points after Pierre Sage’s opening two matches in charge, with injuries, departures and uncertainty over several players contributing to defensive weakness. City are also reshaping their midfield after Rodri and Bernardo Silva left, having signed 18-year-old Ayyoub Bouaddi from Lille for £86m and targeted Chelsea’s Enzo Fernández before the transfer deadline.