Former Liverpool and England midfielder Jamie Redknapp was stunned by Cherki’s performance, and felt compelled to compare the Frenchman to two Premier League icons.
“Rayan Cherki painted a masterpiece,” Redknapp told Sky Sports. “It was an incredible goal [his first]. He felt like the difference because the goals came at such an important time. He had such an amazing effect on the game. He is a genius the things that he can do with a football are just incredible. There are not many Premier League players who can do this. I think Eden Hazard, possibly, could have done that. He was that type of player, the low centre of gravity and then to somehow smuggle the ball away into the corner.
“[Georgi] Kinkladze, Manchester City fans of another generation will remember him. He could get past people in a telephone box and this is very similar. But Cherki is a beautiful player. We have been talking about where he fits in because Enzo Maresca does like structure. But with someone like Cherki you have to accept his freedom, you have to let him do his thing.”
There’s that word again: ‘freedom’. Like Guardiola, Maresca wants City to dominate possession, but he favours a more expansive style with proper width. The Italian is not going to moan at Cherki for embarking on a mazy run or trying a risky pass, like Guardiola famously did when he pulled out a ‘rabona’ cross to assist a goal for Foden against Sunderland last season.
With freedom, Cherki is an unstoppable match-winner. Of course, it doesn’t come off every time, but City need him to open games up, especially against the teams who are content to sit back in a low block and absorb pressure.