Rayan Cherki spent nearly two months without playing but now seems to be fully fit yet again and has already improved Man City greatly.
It didn’t take long for the Frenchman to make an impact for the Citizens. The 22-year-old scored or assisted in three of his first four starts for the club, across the Fifa Club World Cup and the Premier League.
And as he was getting acclimated to English football, he suffered an injury that sidelined him for a few weeks. The international break made it almost two full months without a game. Pep Guardiola then slowly ramped his minutes up with three consecutive appearances as a late sub.
Now though, Cherki is back and looks to have earned the Spaniard’s trust, seeing as he played the full 90 minutes against Swansea in the Carabao Cup and started in the Bournemouth win.
How does Rayan Cherki’s presence improve Man City?
Easing and facilitating Erling Haaland’s goalscoring burden
Rayan Cherki has started each of Man City’s last two games after over two months not doing so and has already racked up four goal involvements. He scored and assisted vs Swansea in Wales and created both of Haaland’s goals at the Etihad vs Bournemouth.
Not only is he good at what he does, but seems to have a good connection with the Norwegian striker. Guardiola has tried to get them close to each other since the CWC group stage. They were occupying similar spots in the pitch, as Haaland attracts enough attention to free up space for Cherki to work with.
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And it works the other way around too, as Cherki has the vision, the technique and improvisational skills to pick out through balls for Haaland to run into space. This describes both of his goals last weekend.
Not only can the Frenchman help Haaland’s scoring prowess, but he can also share the goalscoring burden with him. Cherki averages the second most shots per 90 minutes in the City squad this season (3.9) among those to have played 200+ minutes. Only Haaland has more (4.4).
In addition to that, he’s also tied-second for most goal involvements across all competitions this season (5). Two goals and three assists in just 257 minutes, while Jeremy Doku and Phil Foden have also recorded five but in 841 and 906 minutes, respectively. It’s actually a better per90 average (1.8) than Haaland himself (1.5).
The 22-year-old played alongside Omar Marmoush against Swansea and there was plenty of opportunities for both. Each of them recorded five shots and one goal. Granted, it was a cup tie against a mid-table Championship side. But the flow of that game looked a lot like many others in the Premier League will be for them.
Central threat
Cherki played as a right-attacking-midfielder in the Bournemouth win, but before that he had been operating more as a number 10.
And still, he had a tendency to cut inside with the ball and sometimes presenting himself as an option straight down the middle. The Frenchman ranked third in Man City for passes attempted (48) and third for touches (69).
In a City team that has usually had their most aggressive dribblers out wide and turned them into a somewhat dull and even predictable side at times, Cherki’s chaotic nature can change that. He showed a lot of promise early on roaming freely and using his skill in central areas. That could be the difference in unlocking tough games in the future.
Maybe it was specifically designed for the Bournemouth game, but we saw a Man City with different intentions last weekend. It’s not a common sight to see that many City players tucked inside – especially the wider ones. Doku was highly participative in an unusual and pleasant manner.
Hopefully it wasn’t circumstantial. Freedom of movement with a little less regard for the structural shape makes this team more fun. Maybe one day.
Poster boy for the ‘new Man City’?
Speaking of which, Pep Guardiola has been clearly testing new things this season. He has let go of a few things that we all thought were non-negotiable for him. Possession at all costs, slow and patient build-up, inverted full-backs and so on.
The Spaniard has previously spoken publicly about having to keep up with the evolution of the game. He certainly has gone in that direction with how Man City have been playing in the last few months.
But Rayan Cherki could be an integral part of this ‘revolution’ at Etihad Stadium. He has already brought a little bit of his chaotic nature to the Citizens and it could get even better as he develops over time. Guardiola has looked as flexible as ever with his footballing philosophy and this combination can benefit both sides greatly.
And as long as Erling Haaland is there, running in behind and stretching defences, Cherki will have space to work his magic. Let’s just hope he can stay fit so the Premier League can see the full version of what he could become.