Guardiola praises ‘exceptional’ Man City star as his side advance to semi-finals | OneFootball

Pep Guardiola has praised Rayan Cherki after his goal set Manchester City on their way to a 2-0 victory over Brentford, booking their place in the Carabao Cup semi-finals.

The draw for the semi-finals has since been made, and City will face reigning champions Newcastle.

It was Cherki’s right-footed effort from outside the area that gave the Blues the lead in the quarter-final.

“Close to the opponent’s 18-yard box, he’s an exceptional player,” said Guardiola. “He made a fantastic goal.

“A blind guy, a blind woman can realise, it’s not necessary to be a journalist or manager to realise that was a fantastic, fantastic goal.”

The Catalan even compared the Frenchman to some of City’s greatest ever players in his position – namely teammate Phil Foden and former captain Kevin De Bruyne.

“I saw many times with Phil this type of goal. And with Kevin before.

“So I’m happy that he opened the game.”

Cherki now has three assists and one goal from his last four matches. Despite this, his boss still found holes to pick in his performance.

Guardiola admitted: “I’m really pleased for the impact for the guys that came from the bench. Because in the second half, Rayan Cherki couldn’t do the job he should do defensively.

“He had no energy to do it, Savinho neither.”

The Blues will now regroup ahead of a return to Premier League action against West Ham on Saturday. With City trailing Arsenal by just two points at the top of the table, the significance of the game is not lost on their manager.

Guardiola maintained: “We need to prepare with our fans to win that important game. To finish before this little break, longer than usual, being up there.

“West Ham have a long week, have time to prepare for our game. We don’t have much time. Tomorrow is no training. And then just one day.”