EPL: Rayan Cherki stars with a brace as Manchester City thump Crystal Palace 4-1

Rayan Cherki produced a sensational performance for Manchester City on Friday, scoring twice as they cruised to a 4-1 victory over Crystal Palace in the English Premier League.

The France international, who is of Algerian descent, was at the heart of City’s attacking display, finding the net twice after Erling Haaland had opened the scoring.

Haaland completed the victory with his second goal late in the game to seal another convincing result for Pep Guardiola’s side.

Haaland gives City the lead

Crystal Palace threatened early when Eddie Nketiah raced onto a loose pass inside the penalty area and fired towards the bottom corner, but Gianluigi Donnarumma produced an excellent save to deny him.

City gradually took control and broke the deadlock in the 17th minute.

Haaland rose to meet a dangerous cross and guided a header into the top-left corner, leaving the Palace goalkeeper with no chance.

Cherki takes centre stage

Cherki doubled City’s advantage nine minutes after the restart.

The French forward embarked on a strong solo run before firing from inside the box into the bottom-left corner to make it 2-0.

Palace came close to responding moments later when Yeremy Pino’s free-kick struck the crossbar.

But Cherki quickly restored City’s control.

In the 59th minute, he collected a pass and immediately unleashed a powerful effort into the left side of the net to score his second of the night.

Haaland completes City’s rout

City continued to threaten as the match entered its final stages, with Palace struggling to contain their attacking players.

Haaland then put the result beyond doubt in the 84th minute, receiving a low pass inside the box before smashing the ball into the top-left corner.

The victory completed an outstanding night for City, with Cherki’s two goals and Haaland’s brace powering the Premier League side to a convincing 4-1 win.

For Cherki, the performance further underlined his attacking quality and will be particularly notable to supporters in Algeria given his family heritage.