Manchester City’s Rayan Cherki has revealed manager Enzo Maresca wanted to substitute him before his game-changing impact against Crystal Palace.Cherki continued his fine start to the season with two brilliant second-half goals in Man City‘s 4-1 win at Selhurst Park, doubling the visitors’ lead then restoring their two-goal advantage minutes after Palace had halved the deficit.Cherki has scored three goals in three appearances against PalaceGettyCherki steals the showErling Haaland also bagged a brace, his first goals of the season, as City made it two Premier League wins from two under new boss Maresca.But it was Cherki who stole the show under the lights in south London, following up his two assists in City’s late comeback victory over Bournemouth on the opening weekend.Yet he might not have even got the chance to take this game by the scruff of the neck as he did.“I was playing so badly,” the 23-year-old France international said afterwards. “When Enzo wanted to substitute me, I didn’t like that.”And perhaps that was a masterstroke from Maresca – it certainly seemed to spur Cherki on.“I said to the manager, ‘Give me five minutes and you won’t need to make any substitutions’,” he continued. “Then I really had to show that I deserve to play. I had to score or provide an assist. And I managed that.”Cherki’s first goal was pure individual brilliance as he waltzed through the Palace defence before slotting a deft, disguised finish past Dean Henderson to make it 2-0.His second – after Yeremy Pino’s wicked free-kick had hit the post and gone in off Gianluigi Donnarumma‘s back – to put City 3-1 up showcased his ability to find the net from range.It was the kind of performance that saw talkSPORT’s Adrian Durham once remark that the former Lyon man had been ‘sent to save football’.A naughty slip of the tongueBefore being presented with the Player of the Match award by Sky Sports, Cherki caused a bit of a stir with his own assessment of his display.“My performance was so-so,” he reflected. “In the first half, we didn’t find the space. I played so s***.Cherki holds himself to high standardsAFP“I need to show them I want to play, I want to score. Next time I want to give the ball around more. I looked at Enzo and I knew I needed to change it for the second half.”Cherki is already halfway to reaching his goals tally from last term, his debut campaign in the Premier League.He’s also up to 14 assists in the competition – only record-breaking Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes has provided more since the start of last season.What’s next for City?City return to action next Saturday when they entertain newly promoted Coventry, before the first Manchester derby of 2026/27 at Old Trafford the following Sunday.Maresca’s men have also found out their opponents for the Champions League league phase.They’ll take on Paris Saint-Germain, Sporting Lisbon, Napoli and AEK Athens at home and face Barcelona, Porto, RB Leipzig and Lens away.