Teen dream for Palmer as City run riot in Bruges
TEENAGER Cole Palmer stepped into the spotlight with a classy strike as Manchester City ignited their Champions League campaign with a 5-1 demolition of Club Bruges.
Riyad Mahrez netted twice while full-backs Joao Cancelo and Kyle Walker were also on target in Belgium as City strengthened their position in Group A after defeat to Paris Saint-Germain three weeks ago.
Hans Vanaken claimed a consolation for the hosts but City could easily have won even more comfortably.
They were utterly dominant and in 19-year-old academy product Palmer, they may have unearthed another star.
The youngster, who made a brief appearance against Burnley on Saturday and then scored a hat-trick for the Under-21s later that day, replaced Kevin De Bruyne in the 65th minute.
He looked every bit as composed as the Belgian playmaker could have been as two minutes later he took a Raheem Sterling pass in his stride and brilliantly beat former Liverpool goalkeeper Simon Mignolet.
If that was a moment to relish, the noisy home fans provided a couple that were anything but, including booing the teams taking a knee before kick-off and throwing drinks at Cancelo as he celebrated the opener – something which could warrant Uefa sanctions.
There had already been chances and disallowed goals for City before that Cancelo strike on the half-hour, which came after Phil Foden’s fine lofted ball.
They doubled their lead on the stroke of half-time after Stanley Nsoki tripped Mahrez, who stuck away the penalty.
The dominance continued after the break as Walker drilled No.3 and Palmer made an impact soon after entering the fray, finishing coolly from the edge of the box.
Sterling missed a couple of chances before Vanaken pulled one back. It mattered little as City soon scored again; Mahrez having the final say.