Manchester City cruised to a 4-1 victory over Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Friday night, with Rayan Cherki scoring twice in the second half to add to his two assists against Bournemouth. Erling Haaland also scored twice, while Phil Foden provided two assists as Enzo Maresca's side moved to the top of the Premier League.
There were still issues for the squad to work on, and more players need to be brought in before the transfer window closes, but there were plenty of positives for the travelling fans. Away from the goals, there were other notable moments: midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi made his debut, and two academy players came on in the final minutes.
Bouaddi gets fans excited
Ayyoub Bouaddi played only the final ten minutes, arriving with the game already won. The teenager sat in front of the defence, shielding them from Palace threats and mopping up anything that came his way. When he got on the ball, he played a beautiful pass through the lines for Antoine Semenyo in injury time.
Semenyo was understandably tired and his cross for Haaland was cut out in the box, but the pass would have had people purring if Rodri had played it. The Spaniard leaves large shoes to fill, but Bouaddi suggested he can have a big impact.
Ait-Nouri in and out
Rayan Ait-Nouri spoke of his excitement for the new season on the summer tour but has not had much reason to cheer in the opening weeks. Benched when Nico O'Reilly returned from holiday and watching Josko Gvardiol play at left-back, Ait-Nouri was left on the bench at Selhurst Park while youngster Kaden Braithwaite was brought on to make his Premier League debut.
That had to sting and raises late questions about his place in the squad. After the game, the Algerian headed onto the pitch with the rest of the substitutes to do shuttle runs, still putting in the effort.
McAidoo repeat
This was the first time Ryan McAidoo had been in a City squad since the first friendly of the summer tour. In 45 minutes against Inter in Hong Kong, he teased the defence and went close to scoring, hitting the post. A shoulder injury has prevented involvement since, but his early work earned him a place in Maresca's squad for the season.
Against Palace he showed why. Picking the ball up on the right wing in the final minutes, he used his pace to beat one man before cutting inside and firing at goal on his favoured left foot. Dean Henderson would have been helpless if it had arrowed into the far corner, but it went just the other side of the post, leaving McAidoo waiting for another senior goal.
