All who attend the Rayan Cherki show know the ticket comes with a guarantee of entertainment. Enzo Maresca, a manager famed for his obsessive positional control, does not need to put limits on the Manchester City wizard. Cherki has to feel free and he was at his creative best against Crystal Palace, who were in this game before City’s creative heartbeat took it away from them in the second half.
It has been a fine start to the former Lyon player’s second year in England. Cherki was inspired against Bournemouth last week, coming off the bench to spark City’s fightback from 1-0 down with two assists, and this was better. The Frenchman scored twice and the first, a little prod with the outside of his left foot after a mazy run, left you wondering if you have seen something like it before.
Palace, stuck on zero points despite fleeting signs of encouragement in Pierre Sage’s first two outings, had no answer to Cherki’s magic. He is an irrepressible talent and a deep thinker. Listening to the post-match plaudits, Cherki smiled, shrugged and said his performance in the first half was “so shit”. Maresca, though, had a different view.
“His performance for me was very good, not because of the two goals, but the way he worked off the ball,” City’s manager said. “He has to press. His game was complete. He loves football. We know how good he is. We know the quality he has.”
Cherki was not alone in starring for City. Phil Foden impressed and Erling Haaland, who is up and running for the season, grabbed an emphatic double in a performance strong enough to make Maresca think his post-Pep team have moved on from their Community Shield debacle. “We struggled the first five, 10 minutes, because we were pressing in the wrong way,” the Italian said. “After that we were in control.”
A challenge for Maresca is working with an incomplete midfield following the exits of Rodri and Bernardo Silva. Ayyoub Bouaddi has arrived from Lille, £86m an eye-catching fee for an 18-year-old after his exploits for Morocco at the World Cup, but there is room for one more. Enzo Fernández, desperate to leave Chelsea, is the top target before Tuesday’s deadline.
Not that anyone is going to argue that City are short on midfield options. Maresca, ever the tinkerer, shuffled the pack again. The experiment with Marc Guéhi in the engine room was discontinued, allowing him to slot into central defence against his old side. The £116m Elliot Anderson was the sole pivot, Nico O’Reilly pushed high in a 4-1-4-1 system and Josko Gvardiol inverted from left-back, much like Marc Cucurella in Maresca’s Chelsea side.
There are subtle tweaks to the Guardiola template, though some things never change. City led through a familiar source in the 17th minute, Antoine Semenyo crossing from the left and Haaland finding space to loop a clever header over Dean Henderson.
The defending was poor from Palace, who have had an uncertain summer. They were arranged in familiar fashion, Sage sticking with Oliver Glasner’s 3-4-2-1, but some key faces have gone and others were missing.
Jørgen Strand Larsen led the line in the absence of the wantaway Jean-Philippe Mateta, who may be out for four weeks. Ismaïla Sarr, keen to join Galatasaray, was unavailable and Daniel Muñoz was on the bench amid suggestions of interest from Nottingham Forest. Frailties were inevitable. The defence has lost Maxence Lacroix, sold to Chelsea. Anderson, Semenyo and Foden had chances before half-time. “You saw how we want to play until the 65th minute,” Sage said. “We trust in our process.”
Sage likes to play on the front foot. Adam Wharton, subject of a failed enquiry from City recently, swept a ball through for Eddie Nketiah to test Gianluigi Donnarumma in the second minute. Daichi Kamada went close and Tyrick Mitchell fluffed a header after more enterprising play from Wharton.
Palace lacked incision, Nketiah missing again early in the second half. City pressed, O’Reilly and Foden hustling Kamada. Foden advanced and Cherki took over. The Frenchman danced in from the left, danger rising as he wriggled into the area. A host of Palace defenders were thrown off balance, unable to live with Cherki’s footwork and close control. Expect the unexpected. Cherki floated past Jaydee Canvot and held off Chris Richards. For a moment the ball seemed stuck under his feet but he used Takehiro Tomiyasu as a shield and unveiled a finish that was less poke and more dab, Henderson rooted to the spot as the ball rolled tantalisingly over the line.
Palace quickly grabbed a lifeline, Yéremy Pino’s free-kick hitting the woodwork and bouncing in off Donarumma for an own goal, but Cherki was in his element. He scored again in the 59th minute, a fierce shot from 20 yards deceiving Henderson after flicking off Richards.
City sent Bouaddi on for his debut, Anderson withdrawn. They wanted more. Foden, catching the eye in front of Thomas Tuchel, released Haaland. The Norwegian, who has scored in all six of his league games against Palace, was never going to miss.
