Two assists in 27 minutes off the bench, then another lively cameo against Brighton: Rayan Cherki is making a strong case as Man City’s best impact substitute. The problem is that it is the wrong job for him.
Man City have a player who can change a game in a handful of touches, and Enzo Maresca has started to use him that way. But a talent like this should be starting the big nights, and Wednesday’s trip to RB Leipzig in the Champions League is one of them.
Getting the Frenchman into the right positions has followed him from one manager to the next. He loves to roam and hunt for the ball, and once he has it nobody quite knows what comes next, which is exactly why fans end up off their seats.
What did Guardiola make of him?
It is hard to watch Rayan Cherki and believe Pep Guardiola was the man who brought him to the Etihad. Guardiola admitted as much in December, describing a love-hate relationship with his own signing.
He said: “There are moments I shout at him and there are moments I want to kiss him, so I have that ambivalent feeling with him. I want to allow him to express his incredible talent. We have to play better from the back so he can get more balls from that position.”
Maresca has wrestled with the same balance. He wants his magician to express himself, but he also has to weigh that against what the team needs on the day.
Maresca trusts him, but not blindly
Already this season Maresca has hooked Cherki at half-time when things were not working. The Paris Saint-Germain game was the clearest example: he was marked out of the match, and City looked a lot better without him.
Those are blips, though. Most of the time Maresca has picked him to start, and that tells you how much he rates him. Only twice has the new head coach left him on the bench and sent him on to change a game.
Bournemouth on the opening weekend
The first cameo came on the opening weekend against Bournemouth. Cherki was on the pitch for just 27 minutes and still produced two assists. According to Opta, he also created four chances, more than any other player on the pitch.
Brighton on Saturday
The second came on Saturday. After he impressed against Brighton in midweek, you would have expected him to keep his place, but he was one of ten changes to that side. When he came on, he again made a difference: two shots, two chances created and 17 passes into the final third, per Opta. No assist this time, but plenty of threat against a tiring defence. City still lost 1-0, and you can read more on the early-goal habit that cost them.
Why Maresca kept him on the bench
Maresca started Ayyoub Bouaddi ahead of Cherki and Phil Foden, a call that has already drawn sharp criticism of how Bouaddi is being used. The head coach explained it on Saturday.
He said: “I expected a physical game. Analysing them, watching them they are aggressive man-to-man. I watched the games they have played. I think it was a good idea to start with three physical midfielders and I was also thinking about last 20-30 minutes to refresh with Rayan, Allan, Phil. In this moment it is like this and we need just to move on.”
So the plan was deliberate. Cherki was the finisher, held back for the moment Brighton started to tire.
Verdict: Cherki has to start against RB Leipzig
The finisher role clearly works. Two assists in 27 minutes and a busy half-hour against Brighton prove he can win matches from the bench. But having a player like this come on against tired legs is a bonus, not what City need from him.
He is simply too good to be a substitute when the big games arrive, and nobody should be surprised to see him in the starting XI in Germany on Wednesday night. Our Man City predicted lineup vs RB Leipzig already has him back in.
If he ever needs a breather, knowing he can turn a game in the last half-hour is no bad thing for Maresca. Just don’t make it the plan.
