Cherki genius and Wharton excels - Palace v Man City player ratings

Phil McNulty - Chief football writer at Selhurst Park Fri, August 28, 2026 at 9:15 PM UTC

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Manchester City beat Crystal Palace 4-1 at Selhurst Park on Friday

Manchester City continued their winning Premier League start under manager Enzo Maresca with victory at Crystal Palace. Here's how I rated the players, and you can see how you scored them below.

What do BBC Sport's player ratings mean?

Premier League: Cherki and Haaland both score twice as Man City beat Palace - reaction

Crystal Palace

Dean Henderson: No chance for Manchester City's goals but demonstrated his quality with a fine save early on from Anderson, then others from Semenyo and Cherki. 7

Jaydee Convot: Did nothing wrong but ultimately Palace had no answer to Cherki. 6

Chris Richards: Good battle with Haaland, but only one player was winning that one. Should have scored with a first-half header. 6

Takehiro Tomiyasu: Solid as usual and will bring experience to the Palace ranks. 6

Anan Khalaili: No lack of effort or energy but short of end product. 6

Daichi Kamada: Busy in midfield as always but struggled to exert influence. 5

Adam Wharton: Class act. Composure, vision and a superb range of passing. At the heart of Palace's good things, although like others in the Palace ranks was eventually over-run. 7

Tyrick Mitchell: Tenacious and quick but missed a big chance to equalise with a header in the first half. 6

Eddie Nketiah: Lively early on, forcing a save from Donnarumma, but faded and wasted a crucial opportunity early in the second half. 5

Yeremy Pino: Can be a mixed bag but offers real threat, as he showed with his splendid free-kick that went down as a Donnarumma own goal. 6

Jorgen Strand Larsen: Worked hard but lost the physical battle with Dias. Had one first-half chance but failed to convert. Disappointing. 5

Subs:

Guessand (on 63, Strand Larsen), Gozo (on 68, Pino), McNeil (on 68, Nketiah), Disasi (on Tomiyasu 74) Mingueza (on 74, Khalaili)

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Subs not used: Benitez, Munoz, Lerma, Hughes

Manchester City

Gianluigi Donnarumma: Hardly overworked but made a crucial early save from Nketiah as Palace threatened. 6

Abdukodir Khusanov: Showed his versatility at right-back. Lightning pace. 6

Ruben Dias: Rock solid and untroubled. Brushed aside any challenges. 7

Josko Gvardiol: Figured at left-back but was always willing to lend his weight to City's attacking forays. 6

Nico O'Reilly: Elegant and showed lots of classy touches in a role further forward. 7

Elliot Anderson: Always demanding the ball and ready to put his body on the line in the physical exchanges. Settling in. 7

Marc Guehi: Warm welcome on his return to Selhurst Park, playing in central defence as opposed to his previous role in midfield. 6

Phil Foden: Missed a big first-half chance when he should have scored but played a part in Cherki's first goal. Lively at times. 6

Rayan Cherki: Glorious touches and dribbling skills, capped with a touch of genius and arrogance for his goals. 8

Antoine Semenyo: Provided the inviting cross for Haaland's first goal. Always a threat. 7

Erling Haaland: Off the mark with a trademark header and a powerhouse finish. Scored in all six of his Premier League appearances at Selhurst Park. 7

Subs:

Kovacic (on 75, Gvardiol), McAidoo (on 82 Cherki), Bouaddi (on Anderson 82), Reis (on 89, Khusanov), Braithwaite (on 89, O'Reilly)

Subs not used: Ruli, Ait-Nouri, Echeverri, Lewis

How did you rate the players? -

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Source: “AOL Sports”