It was one of the curiosities of this Wednesday evening. In the Champions League clash between Real Madrid and Manchester City, Pep Guardiola decided to trust Rayan Cherki on the attacking front. The French international started on the right lane of the attack and had to feed Erling Haaland with balls. A big test for his very first start in the Champions League in the City jersey. Even more so in a position that he does not master to perfection, he who rather prefers this role of free number 10.
But this time, Rayan Cherki raised the stakes of the match from a collective point of view. Technically always very comfortable, he wasted no time in distinguishing himself with technical gestures of which he has the secret, placing a few small bridges from time to time. But it is especially in the game without the ball that the Frenchman was expected. In the right lane with an active Vinicius Jr and a Rodrygo Goes who did not hesitate to dezone, Cherki had to lend a hand to Matheus Nunes, who is not a specialist in the position. And he did it quite well.
Everyone is under the spell
Without restricting himself offensively, the former Lyonnais did his teammate good in defensive tasks and especially excelled in keeping the ball in key moments. “He offered better protection to Nunes as the match went on. He could have made more of certain opportunities on the counter-attack”explains Daily Mailwhich gives it a rating of 7 in today’s edition. For his part, the Manchester Evening is dithyrambic. “Manchester City may have finally found their next Riyad Mahrez after victory against Real Madrid”headlines the English media before moving on.
“Cherki arguably rivals Phil Foden for the title of player whose touch on the ball comes closest to Mahrez perfection. And tonight he showed that warrior mentality that has endeared the winger so dear to Guardiola. Cherki started with a half-bridge over Toni Rüdiger before lobbing Álvaro Carreras with a clever lob, to the amazement of the two Madrid players. Coming to the Spanish capital and taking on the challenge is one thing, but it’s rare for local players to face such audacity from their opponents. If Cherki’s dribbling contributed to this impression in a stadium where one can easily feel overwhelmed, he also showed surgical precision to deliver a precise corner on the equalizing goal and put Thibaut Courtois to the test on several occasions.. Strong words which illustrate the English enthusiasm around Rayan Cherki. More and more aligned from the start by Pep Guardiola, the Frenchman is progressing little by little without skipping steps. And his spectacular style of play leaves its mark. To the delight of spectators and City fans, of course.
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– UPDATE
