Man City’s number 10 has been taken off at half-time in four matches this season, yet in the Carabao Cup win over Brighton he was the one talking in the huddle, dragging the team level and leading the charge to the goalkeeper at the end.
With three of City’s four captains missing from the side, Rayan Cherki was the player who had words for his team-mates in the pre-match huddle before the fourth round tie at the Etihad. Marc Guehi wore the armband, but it was the Frenchman who set the tone.
According to the Manchester Evening News, Enzo Maresca has discovered a new side to the 23-year-old, and the evidence was everywhere on Wednesday night.
How Rayan Cherki took charge for Man City against Brighton
The opening 15 minutes belonged to Cherki. He bamboozled Brighton defenders with a couple of early forays forward and had the first real shot of the night. The match was barely a quarter old when he turned to a sparse Etihad crowd and tried to rouse the home fans behind their side.
It was not a classic, and City’s grip on the trophy looked like it might slip when Brighton went in front twice. Mateo Kovacic cancelled out Malick Yalcouye’s opener, but Georginio Rutter put the visitors back ahead inside 90 seconds of the second half.
The spark Maresca needed
City needed someone to drag them back into it, and Cherki did exactly that. The second equaliser may have flicked in off Vitor Reis, but it was Cherki’s driven free kick that did the damage, as our report on the 4-3 shootout win over Brighton covered.
The Blues were reinvigorated after that, and so was Cherki. He was animated as City pushed to win it in normal time, and more than once he had a word with a team-mate.
Rayan Cherki and the shootout that sent Man City through
In the end it took penalties. Both sides missed their fourth kicks, and Cherki stepped up to convert City’s fifth. After tucking it away he stared down Brighton goalkeeper Jason Steele, then turned to offer a word of encouragement to his own stopper, Geronimo Rulli.
Rulli kept out Lewis Dunk’s effort to send City through to a home quarter-final against Bradford City, and Cherki led the sprint to the Argentine from the halfway line. Front and centre, just as he had been all night.
What Maresca said about Rayan Cherki and the Man City fringe players
Maresca made sweeping changes for the tie, and he made it clear he did not regret any of them. He picked out Cherki among the players who impressed.
Maresca said: “Marc, the captain after two complicated games, I think he was very good. Rayan was good, Phil good. Mateo was very good. Vitor was very good, Rico and Nico.”
He added: “Some of them are not playing many minutes and it is important that when we need them they are ready and tonight they were all ready.”
The City boss also stressed that the ambition is the same in every competition: “This is a new project, new players, new manager started three months ago and we need to do our business and that is winning games. At the moment we are doing that.” With Arsenal beaten at Fleetwood and Liverpool knocking out Chelsea, the holders have a real opening, and the much-changed Man City lineup against Brighton showed there is depth to chase it.
Is Rayan Cherki now a Man City leader?
Four half-time substitutions in a season tell you Maresca has not always been convinced Cherki can be trusted for 90 minutes. Wednesday was a direct answer to that. He did not just produce the moment of quality, he organised, cajoled and celebrated like a senior player.
With so many of the usual leaders rested, City needed someone to take responsibility, and the number 10 grabbed it. If he can bring that edge into the Premier League, Maresca will find it much harder to take him off at the break.
