Onuoha excited by potential of City’s street football attackers | OneFootball

Nedum Onuoha believes the unpredictability of City’s attacking ‘street ballers’ makes them hard to defend against.

The former City defender was a guest on Matchday Live for the 6-0 victory over Al Ain as we made it two wins out of two at the FIFA Club World Cup in the US.

Ilkay Gundogan scored twice with Claudio Echeverri, Erling Haaland, Oscar Bobb and Rayan Cherki also on target as we guaranteed a place in the last-16.

Summer signing Cherki was a second half substitute and scored his first goal for the Blues with a brilliant strike after neat link-up play with Haaland.

And Onuoha says the French international is another member of the squad who brings a special type of natural flair with the ball at their feet.

WATCH: FIFA Club World Cup Highlights: City 6-0 Al Ain

“The skill is there, the understanding is there, the quality is there,” he told host Cel Spellman following the win.

“As I was watching, I was thinking back to when I was playing and there were a few times in my career when something would happen and I don’t know how it’s happened.

“With some of those attackers that’s what you’re seeing. Those people that can see a different sort of game are the hardest to play against because you’re never able to read them and they will always do something you don’t expect.

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“Even for Cherki’s goal, that ‘over’ to let it go for Haaland. No one’s seen him do an ‘over’ yet so why was that the right time to do it?

“He reads it, he knows the perfect way and goes to the perfect position, Haaland sees it, perfect set and bang. It was on his right foot, which he’d used maybe once for the previous 10 minutes.

“This level of quality in my opinion, when it gets like this, creative and in flow, it’s the type of stuff that you see training and when they bring that onto game day, it’s top.”

Fellow guest Paul Dickov says he has the sort of quality that can open up defences once the Premier League kicks off in August.

With opponents regularly coming to the Etihad and playing with compact defences to stifle creativity, the ex-City striker says Cherki’s creativity is exciting for Pep Guardiola and City fans.

“I think that’s why players like Cherki have been brought in against tight blocks,” Dickov said.

“When you play in the Premier League against tight blocks, he’s unpredictable in what he’s going to do. In a flash, he’s got a little bit of skill that’s going to open up defences.

“At times in the last couple of years we’ve struggled to do that, but he’s got that little bit of gold dust, that little bit of magic.

“For him to come him and connect with his team-mates so early, doing it already, going forward it’s super exciting.”

He joins a youthful forward line with skillful attackers, adding another option alongside Phil Foden, Jeremy Doku, Savinho, Bobb and Echeverri.

And Onuoha says the potential over the next few years as they progress is mouthwatering.

“They still do it in a structure but every now and again they will do something you don’t expect but for them it’s as normal as it comes,” he added.

“[Cherki] might use his right foot, he might use his left, he’s not decided before he’s started doing it so what chance have you got to defend against him?

“Cherki’s not decided which way he’s going to go, he’s watching you, he’s reading you, so how are you going to figure it out when he’s figuring you out? The quality’s there, some of the play with his left foot is magnificent.

“Phil was magnificent, talking about young players, Doku and Savinho, these players in one, two or three years’ time, some of the attacking potential that City have right now, it could be as good as we’ve ever seen.”

Matchday Live will be back on Thursday for our final Group G game against Juventus, which kicks off at 20:00 (UK), with guests Steph Houghton and David James.