Man City just dropped a 4-1 hammer on Crystal Palace, and Rayan Cherki was right at the heart of it all, bagging two absolutely brilliant second-half goals. You know how some players give those textbook, boring answers after a big win? Not Cherki. Moments after City put down their first heavyweight marker of the post-Pep Guardiola era, he was asked live on TV how much he enjoyed the game, and he gave a colorfully uncomplimentary , and unprintable , description of his *own* first-half performance. Erling Haaland, standing right there, literally just laughed at the 23-year-old France attacker’s sweary honesty. That’s the kind of fire we just saw at Selhurst Park.
This Is Rayan Cherki, Unfiltered and Unstoppable
Forget the self-criticism, because Cherki made a nonsense of it by unveiling a Selhurst Park masterclass. This kid just refuses to hide his talent. He made his impact under Guardiola last season, coming to City for a bargain £30m from Lyon, but there was always a feeling he could do even more. He got 33 Premier League appearances, but 14 of those were off the bench, right? There was a real sense he had something to prove under new boss Enzo Maresca, especially with City’s insane attacking resources. He even came off the bench to assist two late goals for the victory against Bournemouth on opening weekend. Cherki’s known for being unpredictable, and Maresca himself said after the Bournemouth game that “if he is not happy he wants to show it.” Well, Maresca might have been hard to please in the past at Leicester City and Chelsea, but he was straight-up satisfied with Cherki after Palace. “He’s happy and I’m happy,” Maresca told the press. What a statement.
The “Complete Performance” That Shut Down the Doubters
Maresca wasn’t just happy about the two goals either. He specifically praised Cherki’s “work off the ball,” saying, “He pressed and gave us a complete performance on the ball and off the ball.” This isn’t just a flashy attacker. He went on to say, “Rayan is Rayan. We know him. He loves football and it makes it so much easier to work with him. The quality he has in this moment helps the team, not just with assists but goals.” Maresca even added to BBC Match of the Day that Cherki’s “performance off the ball was unbelievable” and that he “was in charge of Adam Wharton. He controlled him. He was very good.” That’s high praise, because Adam Wharton is a player City has actually been eyeing to strengthen the squad. For all the team effort, it was Cherki’s two moments of individual genius , the first coming nine minutes into the second half with City already up 1-0, taking Phil Foden’s pass for a slalom run , that are gonna be remembered. This win, this performance, it just totally blew up all that talk that City was gonna decline after Guardiola left. Seriously, that noise was greatly exaggerated.
This team, and especially Cherki, just put everyone on notice. The season is early, but that kind of raw honesty and undeniable skill sets a serious tone. If this is “Rayan is Rayan,” then City fans should be stoked for what’s next.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by BBC Sport.
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