Erling Haaland and Rayan Cherki both scored twice as Enzo Maresca’s side collected a second successive win and moved to the top of the table with six points from two matches.
Haaland opened the scoring in the 17th minute with a well-placed header, marking his first goal of the new campaign. The Norway striker was wearing a black armband in tribute to the late King Harald V of Norway, whose death was announced earlier in the day.
City controlled much of the first half but had to wait until after the interval to pull clear. Cherki doubled the lead in the 54th minute with a moment of individual brilliance, weaving through the Palace defence before slotting the ball past Dean Henderson.
Palace briefly threatened a comeback two minutes later. Yeremy Pino’s powerful free-kick struck the crossbar and rebounded off City goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma into the net for an own goal, reducing the deficit to 2-1.
Any hopes of a recovery were quickly extinguished. Cherki restored the two-goal cushion in the 59th minute with a deflected strike from outside the box that wrong-footed Henderson, completing a rapid brace and his first in the Premier League.
Haaland sealed the result in the 84th minute, finishing clinically with his left foot after being put through by Phil Foden, who contributed two assists on the night.
The performance underlined City’s attacking threat under Maresca following their opening-day 2-1 win over Bournemouth. Cherki, who started in place of Rico Lewis, was particularly influential and earned widespread praise for his creativity and finishing.
Palace, under new manager Pierre Sage, have now lost both of their opening league fixtures and sit at the foot of the table. Despite moments of promise, they struggled to contain City’s pace and movement in the final third.
City will host Coventry City in their next Premier League outing, while Palace face Fulham. Maresca’s side have made an impressive early statement, blending established quality with emerging talent as they look to challenge for major honours once again.