Raheem Sterling, Leroy Sane and Yaya Toure were the men on target as Manchester City booked their place in the fifth round of the FA Cup with a routine 3-0 win at Crystal Palace.
City manager Pep Guardiola welcomed captain Vincent Kompany back into his side for the first time since November, when he suffered knee ligament damage at the same ground, and the Belgium centre-back was rarely extended by Sam Allardyce’s men over the course of 90 minutes.
Palace’s best spell of pressure immediately preceded the opening goal, when Sterling gratefully accepted and converted a beautifully judged pass from full debutant Gabriel Jesus two minutes before half-time.
Sane was a big-money arrival from Schalke during the close-season and, having taken time to settle in England, the 21-year-old Germany winger made it three goals in as many appearances when David Silva pulled Palace apart in the 71st minute.
Toure made his surprise return to the City starting line-up at Selhurst Park two months ago and, now part of the furniture once more, he garnished victory with an excellent free-kick in stoppage time.