Manchester City are out to “start another story” following the end of the Pep Guardiola era, so says Rayan Cherki.

City made it two Premier League wins from two games under Enzo Maresca on Friday, as they beat Crystal Palace 4-1 at Selhurst Park.

Cherki was superb, scoring twice to net the first league brace of his senior career, with Erling Haaland also doubling up to open his account for the season.

While moving away from Guardiola, as well as stalwarts like Bernardo Silva, John Stones and Rodri, means City are undergoing a rebuild, Cherki feels their squad is perfectly poised to begin a new era.

“Pep was a big story, we will start another story,” Cherki told Sky Sports.

“We want to prove it and are here for that.”

2 + 2 – Rayan Cherki is the third player to have a game with multiple goals and another game with multiple assists across a team’s first two matches of a Premier League campaign, after Thierry Henry in 2004-05 and Didier Drogba in 2010-11.

Polymath. pic.twitter.com/4cRV0xMIFa

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) August 28, 2026

While Cherki stole the show, especially with his exquisitely taken first goal, Haaland has now netted seven times in the Premier League at Selhurst Park.

That is a tally only matched by Harry Kane, who is the only player to reach 50 away goals in the competition in fewer appearances than Haaland (51 goals on his 68th such appearance tonight).

Haaland told Sky Sports that City’s players are trusting the process as they get to grips with what Maresca expects of them.

He said: “It’s been a short pre-season. Rayan [Cherki], five weeks ago was at the World Cup. Game by game, we’ll be back, just need a few games.

“We played well, it’s a new manager but we’ve been playing together, with the addition of a few new players. We know what to do and have to trust the system.

“We have to keep on playing together, find out where we are best and how to play. We have so many good players and we have to fit everyone in. This is the right step forward for everyone. We have to build on this.”