Rayan Cherki attributes Crystal Palace double to having a point to prove
The Frenchman did not start during the club’s prior Bournemouth clash.
Rayan Cherki has revealed his second-half double against Crystal Palace was fuelled by feeling like he had a point to prove to new boss Enzo Maresca.
The France international scored twice in six minutes on Friday night at Selhurst Park, adding to the pair of assists he picked up in City’s season-opening home win over Bournemouth.
Cherki started in south London after being benched until the 63rd minute at the Etihad, and was determined to reward Maresca’s decision to favour him over Rico Lewis.
“I think it’s in my head when I see the coach once changed me. I’m not happy, and I want to show them we need me on the pitch,” said Cherki in a post-match interview with club media.
Erling Haaland confirmed there would be no Samson-like post-buzzcut regression when he nodded in the opener, and added a second with six minutes remaining in normal time.
Phil Foden contributed two assists, while ex-Palace captain Marc Guehi, restored to his more familiar role at the back after being shifted to holding midfielder for City’s opener, impressed again.
“We have a lot of big players,” added Cherki. “And when we play like that, we can build a big, big difference.
“We know the (league) is so strong. We need time to build again and again, and we work all week for that.”
While City seem to be accelerating partnerships at a speed which will be pleasing to Maresca, it remains unclear if Jack Grealish will be part of the same picture moving forward.
The winger has been linked to a number of clubs ahead of Tuesday night’s transfer window deadline, including Everton and Sunderland, and was not in City’s squad on Friday.
Asked what that implied, Maresca said: “I had the chat with Jack yesterday. Again, we see what’s happening in the next 48, 72 hours and we’ll see.”
Maresca’s overall assessment of his second Premier League triumph in City’s dugout was overall a positive one, though he was not pleased by the first 10 minutes, when Palace created a couple of quick chances as a result, he felt, of City “pressing the wrong way”.
The Italian made an adjustment and things started to click, resulting in a scoresheet marred only by a Gianluigi Donnarumma own goal, largely the payoff from an excellent Yeremy Pino free kick.
Maresca added: “Especially I like the sacrifice or the desire of the ball, because if we are able to match the intensity, the desire of different opponents, I think with the quality we have we can do something important.
“We were very good on the ball, but I also think we were very, very good off the ball.”