An important piece of the Manchester City lineup emerged against Real Madrid | OneFootball

After Manchester City drew with West Ham 1-1 last Saturday, Pep Guardiola admitted he made a mistake by not starting Rayan Cherki at the London Stadium. Instead, Antoine Semenyo started in the number ten role against West Ham, a role that doesn’t suit the Ghana international. There was a massive improvement in Manchester City’s attacking play against West Ham when Cherki was finally brought onto the pitch for the final half-hour of that match. Perhaps that result may have been different if Cherki had started in the role he is ideally suited to play against West Ham.

Heading into last night’s UEFA Champions League Round of 16 second leg against Real Madrid, there was no doubt that Rayan Cherki was going to start. Cherki started, and although City went down to a 2-1 defeat and crashed out of the Champions League with a 5-1 aggregate defeat to Real Madrid, Cherki showed why he must be a first-team regular in this Manchester City side.

Rayan Cherki was superb against Real Madrid as he, alongside Jeremy Doku, tried to will Manchester City to the impossible.

Manchester City were up against it from kickoff last night against Real Madrid. Nearly everything had to go right for Pep Guardiola’s side to overturn the 3-0 deficit they faced after their disappointing defeat at the Bernabeu last week. City had to attack Real Madrid from kickoff to have any chance of coming back into the tie. City began brightly, and although they did give Real Madrid chances on the break, City attacked Real Madrid with real intent in the game’s opening 15 minutes. As City went at Real Madrid, Rayan Cherki and Jeremy Doku set about attempting to pick apart the Real Madrid defence. If not for some poor finishing, City could have well grabbed an early goal to give themselves a chance at the improbable. Cherki and Doku created a host of openings that weren’t seized upon by their teammates.

Rayan Cherki has the ability to fight for the cause which is a valuable trait.

Once Bernardo Silva was sent off for a deliberate handball and Vinicius Junior converted the subsequent penalty, Manchester City’s Champions League campaign was over. To their credit, Pep Guardiola’s side fought valiantly with ten men. They never gave up the fight, pulled a goal back, and in the process Rayan Cherki proved that he simply has to be a first-team regular for Manchester City.

Rayan Cherki, like his teammates, gave everything to the cause last night. To become the side that City want to become, they need players who will fight when the chips are down. Cherki fits that bill. Cherki’s brilliance on the ball is well-known. Last night he was a constant threat to the Real Madrid defense on the right wing. Cherki had chances of his own that either just went wide or were saved by Thibaut Courtois in the first half. He unpicked the Real Madrid defence with his passing, and his ability to run at Real Madrid caused constant issues for Alvaro Arbeloa’s side.

If Pep Guardiola had any doubts about whether Rayan Cherki should be a starter in this Manchester City team, they were removed last night. Jeremy Doku was Manchester City’s most dangerous attacking player on the left wing last night, but Rayan Cherki showed on the right wing that he simply must be a regular starter for his team.

From here, Rayan Cherki needs to be a key player for Pep Guardiola’s side.

Rayan Cherki proved to Pep Guardiola why he must start more often than not for Manchester City. The French international is Manchester City’s chief creative player. Pep Guardiola is blessed with a host of attacking options in his squad. But Erling Haaland, Antoine Semenyo, and Omar Marmoush need someone to create chances for them. We saw this against West Ham last Saturday. Rayan Cherki is that player. This City side, and Pep Guardiola need to start Cherki more often. Yes, Cherki needs to do more out of possession, but he won’t learn this on the bench. Also, the City lineup can be set up in a way that allows Cherki to start with more regularity.

Rayan Cherki proved his point last night with a quality performance against Real Madrid. He proved why he should be a first-team regular for this City side. Although Manchester City’s Champions League campaign ended last night, there were positives to take from last night’s match for Pep Guardiola’s side. Rayan Cherki showing exactly why he needs to be utilized as a regular starter is perhaps near the top of that particular list.