Rayan Cherki left the San Siro angry after France’s 3-1 defeat to Italy, but the story of a dressing-room bust-up with Bradley Barcola has grown well beyond what was first reported.
Rayan Cherki and Barcola were both picked by Zinedine Zidane for Thursday night’s Nations League trip to Milan. It ended with France losing for the first time since the World Cup winner took charge, and with two Premier League rivals at the centre of the fallout.
Michael Olise put France ahead early, but Pio Esposito equalised and went on to score again as Italy ran out 3-1 winners. That was the game before which Roberto Mancini had asked the San Siro to stop booing Man City’s goalkeeper.
What happened between Cherki and Barcola?
According to RMC Sport, the Manchester City playmaker and the Liverpool summer signing had a heated exchange late in the first half after a misunderstanding on the pitch. It came just after Esposito’s equaliser, at the point where the game started to turn.
The same report described the France players as they came out of the dressing room after the final whistle: “Heads down as they left the locker room, a very affected Malo Gusto, marked by his poor performance, an angry Rayan Cherki with a dark look, in line with some tensions that appeared on the pitch, notably a misunderstanding between him and Bradley Barcola at the end of the first half, when the match had started to turn around, after the Italian equaliser.”
So did Cherki storm out?
That is where the story has been stretched. Other outlets have since claimed Cherki stormed out of the dressing room after a bust-up with Barcola, but that is not what the first report said. It pointed to a frustrated player, upset by the result, rather than one at war with a team-mate.
Zidane did not hide from the performance either. “We didn’t lack courage, on the contrary, we were in the game,” he said after the defeat. “But, defensively, we weren’t as good. Without the ball, it wasn’t enough. We crumbled after the break, we lost our composure, but that’s part of the learning process.”
He added: “We’ll analyse it. We’ll focus on winning back possession. That’s one of the things we need to work on. We all defended less well, but we’ll continue with our playing principles.”
How has Cherki done under Zidane?
Much better than he did before him. The 23-year-old had more of a fringe role under Didier Deschamps, who left after taking France to the World Cup semi-finals, but he has pushed his way in since Zidane arrived and already has a goal and two assists in this Nations League campaign.
Barcola’s story has gone the other way. He shone at the World Cup, scoring three times in North America, which convinced Liverpool to spend big on him. Under Zidane he has started three of the five games and is still waiting for his first goal.
What is next for France?
The defeat has not done much damage. France host winless Turkey in Bordeaux on Sunday evening in their last group game, knowing a point will take them into the quarter-finals and a win could still be enough to finish top. You can see where the rest of City’s squad are playing this break in our guide to City’s internationals.
Verdict: Cherki’s anger is the good kind
A player who walks off the San Siro pitch with a dark look after a 3-1 defeat is not a problem. It is what you want from someone who has fought his way from the edge of the squad into the side under a new manager.
A heated word with a team-mate at the moment a game turns happens in every dressing room. The bigger worry would be Cherki shrugging off nights like this, and nothing about Thursday suggests that. If he carries the same edge into Sunday, and then back to Manchester, City will happily take it.
