Rayan Cherki's timid debut with Manchester City at the Club World Cup

It took Rayan Cherki just two games to score his first goal for Manchester City and keep alive the hopes Sky Blues fans have in him, as the clash for first place in Group G of the Club World Cup against Juventus Turin looms on Thursday, June 26 at 3 p.m. (9 p.m. in mainland France), in Orlando, Florida.

Across the Channel, almost no one doubted the potential of the French international, transferred on June 10 from Olympique Lyonnais (OL) to the team managed by Pep Guardiola. The Gone, born and trained in Lyon, as comfortable with his left foot as with his right, "impressed from a very young age (...) with his dribbling and feints" , reported the British daily The Guardian , shortly after his signing.

The Manchester Evening News described Cherki as a "talented player, [who] excels in tight spaces and is versatile enough to play in all attacking positions" , particularly as a playmaker, a position that has been available since the departure to Naples of Belgian Kevin de Bruyne , the Citizens' playmaker for the last ten years.

You have 77.03% of this article left to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.