Israeli Anan Halaily Shines in Crystal Palace Debut Despite 4-1 Loss to Manchester City

Israeli midfielder Anan Halaily made a notable debut for Crystal Palace in their 4-1 defeat against Manchester City on August 28, 2026, during the Premier League's second round. Despite the heavy loss to one of the world's top teams, Halaily stood out with an impressive defensive performance, recording 10 tackles in his first start, a feat not seen since N'Golo Kanté in 2015. This also marks the highest number of tackles in a Premier League match this season across 11 games.

Major sports websites and analytics platforms unanimously rated Halaily as Crystal Palace's best player in the match. Flashscore awarded him a 7.2 rating, the highest among the 16 Palace players, despite a yellow card that slightly lowered his score. Fotmob gave him an even higher rating of 7.7, while Whoscored rated him 7.38, well above the next highest teammate, Daichi Kamada, who scored 6.74.

English media highlighted Halaily's effort on the right side of the attack but noted he had to focus primarily on defensive duties against his markers. They praised his high energy and commitment, though they mentioned his final actions lacked precision. Halaily's debut performance signals a promising start to his Premier League career despite the team's overall defeat.