Pep Guardiola: ‘Blind men and women’ can realise Rayan Cherki’s talent

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has once again piled on the praise for Rayan Cherki off the back of a stellar goal from the Frenchman in midweek.

Cherki has been in outstanding form for the Blues in recent months, having gone from strength to strength in his opening months at the Etihad Stadium since his start to life in England was disrupted by an injury the playmaker sustained in August that kept him out for a few months.

The 22-year-old joined City for £34 million in the backdrop of a breakthrough Ligue 1 campaign with boyhood side Lyon, who received a host of approaches for the France international towards the closing stages of the 2024-25 season.

However, Manchester City director of football Hugo Viana marked his arrival to the Etihad Stadium with the hallmark capture of Cherki, mitigating the humongous loss of creative genius Kevin De Bruyne, who was let go by the club at the end of his contract last season.

Cherki starred at the FIFA Club World Cup in the United States as he gave Manchester City fans a cheeky glimpse of what could be in store for the years to come, forging a close relationship with Phil Foden despite social media chatter of in-camp rivalry between the club’s most technically sound pair.

City made a slugging start to the season as they followed an opening day Premier League rout of Wolves – where Cherki came off the bench to score his first goal in the English top-flight – with successive losses against Tottenham and Brighton to finish August in the bottom half of the league table.

However, Pep Guardiola’s men have since turned a corner and gone on an impressive streak of results to claw their name back into the conversation for the Premier League title, staying right on Arsenal’s heels and cutting the gap to the table-topping Gunners to a mere two points in recent weeks.

At the heart of City’s autumn resurgence has been Cherki’s return and the positive influence the Frenchman has had on the likes of Foden and Erling Haaland, who are reaping the rewards of the summer signing’s service as they flourish in a new-look Manchester City side.

Cherki opened the scoring in sensational fashion for City in their 2-0 Carabao Cup quarter-final win over Brentford on Wednesday night, scoring a thumping, right-footed effort from outside the box following a corner before celebrating in Haaland-esque fashion, underpinning the strong friendship he shares with his Norwegian teammate on and off the pitch.

Addressing reporters in his post-match media conference, Guardiola was quizzed for this thoughts on Cherki’s wonderful solo finish against Brentford. “Outside, close to the 18-yard box of the opponent he’s an exceptional player,” Guardiola said.

“He made a fantastic goal; a blind guy, a blind woman can realise – it’s not necessary to be a journalist or a manager to realise. It was a fantastic, fantastic goal. I saw many times with Phil (Foden) this type of goal, with Kevin (De Bruyne_ before. So I’m happy he opened the game!”

Manchester City’s architect-in-chief has been a regular feature in the starting XI since his return to fitness in October and Cherki is expected to retain his place in the lineup when the Blues welcome West Ham to the Etihad Stadium on Saturday afternoon.