"Everything Liverpool wanted in Wirtz is in him", "Top 5 player in the league" - Fans hail Manchester City star after 3-0 Palace win

Manchester City fans are in awe of Rayan Cherki after his performance in the Premier League win over Crystal Palace. Many have hailed him as the best signing in recent seasons, while also mocking Liverpool's Florian Wirtz.

Erling Haaland opened the scoring for Guardiola's side, finding the back of the net in the 41st minute to give the away side the lead just before the break. Phil Foden then made it 2-0 just after the hour mark, with Cherki getting the all-important assist to give his side complete control of the match.

Haaland sealed the win for the Cityzens, converting from the spot in the final minute of normal time. The fans were full of praise for Cherki more than the Norwegian, who scored two goals today, with many posting:

Pep Guardiola hailed Cherki earlier this month, saying that the Frenchman had adapted well and comparing him to Lionel Messi. He said (via club website):

“Rayan is an exceptional player. He is so young, proved his personality at Fulham. Every time he had the ball he gave us extra passes and in the final third he has something special. What I admire the most with Rayan is not the skills. I never saw Messi play this cross and he is the best player."

“I never saw him do this, if the cross is fine it’s fine. Whether with your right, left, if it’s effective, it’s fine. I learned from Messi that I never make a mistake with the simple things. Simple things, he does perfectly. I want my players to do the simple things well. After that, if you have special talent that your mum and dad give to you you can do whatever you want - but if he doesn’t work then we have a problem.“

Manchester City closed the gap on Arsenal back to two points with the win over Crystal Palace.

Pep Guardiola wants Manchester City back on top of the Premier League table

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has said that his focus remains on getting the club back to the top of the Premier League table. He added that they are doing well in the UEFA Champions League too and said:

"Still we're not at our top; we see it in some moments during the season. But every time, we can be better and better. We are not in an ideal position, we prefer to be 1st [in the table], but we are close to the top of the league. In the Champions League we are in a good position with the problems that we had. And the players have been fantastic so far..."

Manchester City face Brentford next in the Carabao Cup this week, before hosting West Ham United on Saturday, December 20.

Edited by Sripad