Premier League REVIEW 28 Aug 2026: Rayan Cherki twice in six second-half minutes, and City win 4-1 at Selhurst Park

Manchester City won 4-1 at Crystal Palace on Friday night, and the match turned on six minutes either side of the hour. Erling Haaland scored on 17 minutes from an Antoine Semenyo assist. Rayan Cherki made it two on 54, set up by Phil Foden; Palace pulled one back on 56 through an own goal from Gianluigi Donnarumma; and Cherki scored again on 59, this time from Josko Gvardiol. Haaland closed it on 84, with Foden's second assist of the night.

The hour before that had been closer than the scoreline suggests, and the hour after it was Palace changing things. Evann Guessand came on at 63 minutes, Dwight McNeil and Zavier Gozo together on 68, Axel Disasi on 74 and Oscar Mingueza on 77. Manchester City used their bench later and more comfortably: Mateo Kovacic on 75, Ryan McAidoo and Ayyoub Bouaddi on 82, Vitor Reis and Braithwaite on 89. The bookings were Cherki on 33, Elliot Anderson on 55 and Anan Khalaili on 68.

Two things made this a fixture worth moving. It was the first meeting between the clubs since Marc Guehi left Palace for Manchester City in January 2026, having captained the side in 101 of his 188 appearances, and the first with new management at both ends: Pierre Sage was appointed at Selhurst Park on 15 June 2026 when Oliver Glasner's contract expired on the day of the Conference League final, and Enzo Maresca took over at Manchester City on 29 June, succeeding Pep Guardiola after ten years. The match itself was brought forward a day from 29 August for Sky Sports.

Both clubs have won things lately. Palace took the FA Cup in 2025, the Community Shield that followed it and the Conference League in May 2026, three honours inside thirteen months and all of them under Glasner; Manchester City answered with both domestic cups in the same season, the League Cup 2-0 against Arsenal on 22 March 2026 and the FA Cup 1-0 against Chelsea on 16 May 2026. What separates the cabinets is everything underneath — eleven English league titles, eight FA Cups, eight League Cups, the Cup Winners' Cup of 1970 and the Champions League of 2023 that completed the treble. Palace's own record books still open at a 9-0 win over Barrow in October 1959 and close at a 0-9 defeat at Liverpool in September 1989, which remains the biggest top-flight win Liverpool have managed.