John Stones scored twice as Manchester City cruised past Crystal Palace to go second in the Premier League following their 4-0 victory at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday.

City dominated early proceedings as Stones headed home Kevin De Bruyne’s sublime outside-of-the-boot cross after 26 minutes to make it 1-0.

Gabriel Jesus had a great chance to double his side’s lead just before the break, but the Brazilian’s header lacked the power needed to beat Vicente Guaita.

Man City grabbed their third goal shortly after the break with a sensational strike from Ilkay Gundogan from just outside the box.

Stones then completed his brace in the 68th minute when he slotted the ball home after Guaita had initially saved Ruben Dias’ header.

Raheem Sterling rounded off the victory for City in the 88th minute with a superb free kick to make it 4-0 and extend their winning run to five games in the Premier League.

The result had them leapfrogging Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool and Leicester City into second, two points behind leaders Manchester United, while Palace remain in 13th place with 23 points from 19 matches.