Manchester City midfielder Rayan Cherki made headlines in the 3-0 win over Sunderland, but Josep Guardiola wants the Frenchman to keep things simple in his matches.
Pep Guardiola has urged Rayan Cherki to “keep things simple” after the Manchester City star was lavished with praise for his stunning Rabona assist against Sunderland on Saturday.
The 22-year-old Cherki was brilliant in City’s 3-0 win, registering two assists. After Ruben Dias laid the ball off and found the net from 30 yards, Cherki fed a perfect Rabona cross to Phil Foden to head home his third and final goal for his home city at the Etihad.
The attacking midfielder, signed for £31m from Lyon in the summer, was the main talking point after the match with his excellent performance. But while others praised his showmanlike assist, Guardiola brought the Frenchman back to reality with his own opinion after the match.
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“Messi is the best player in this game, but I’ve never seen a cross like this,” the former Barcelona manager said of Rabona.
“The cross can be on the right or left, on any part of the foot. It doesn’t matter if it’s effective, but I like the simplicity of it because I learned from Messi that you can never go wrong with something simple.”
Guardiola urged Cherki to keep pushing, working hard and doing the “simple things” well, stressing that he doesn’t need to change his style to make an impact with the ball.
“He does simple things perfectly and then he dribbles past four or five players. I want players to do simple things well. After that, he has a special talent and he can do whatever he wants.”
“But if he doesn’t work now, that’s a problem. He’s going to be in trouble.”
Cherki has provided six assists in 13 games since joining City, helping City move within two points of Arsenal in the Premier League summit.
Danny Murphy was impressed with the City star, pointing out that the only thing that prevented him from securing a regular place in Guardiola’s side was a thigh injury that kept him out for two months.
He told BBC Sport: “Rayan Cherki has been in and out of City’s squad and, despite missing two months with injury at the start of the season, has great skill and vision.
“Posep Guardiola is wary of having too many non-defensive players in his team, and he might look at Cherki and ask, ‘He’s a number 10, can he play wide?'” But Cherki can always create opportunities for his team with a little flair.
“If you look at the recent games, he’s starting to develop a good relationship with Erling Haaland. With centre-forwards, players have to be willing to take risks on the last ball, and Cherki is certainly a risk-taker.”
“He showed incredible skill today, not just with the assist for La Boona. He will play a big role for the team going forward.”
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