Rayan Cherki’s performance alongside fellow playmaker Phil Foden in Manchester City’s 3-1 Premier League win over Bournemouth on Sunday was the ‘first taste of something special’, Citizens expert Steven McInerney from Esteemed Kompany has told Sports Mole.
Man City supporters have been desperate to see Foden start alongside summer signing Cherki in behind central striker Erling Haaland, and they were granted their wish for the first time this season by manager Pep Guardiola in front of a jubilant Etihad Stadium crowd.
Cherki assisted both of Haaland’s goals in the first half against Bournemouth before Foden set up Nico O’Reilly after the interval to help the Citizens collect all three points and climb above the Cherries into second place in the Premier League table.
Foden became the youngest player in Man City history to reach 200 Premier League appearances at the weekend and he marked the impressive milestone with an influential performance in his favoured central attacking midfield role, having previously shown glimpses of getting back to his best this term.
As for Cherki, his eye-catching outing against Bournemouth followed a man-of-the-match display in an EFL Cup fourth-round win against Swansea in which he scored and provided an assist on his first start since August after a spell on the sidelines through injury.
Steven McInerney / Esteemed Kompany YouTube image
Cherki-Foden-Haaland combination “as good as we hoped” for Man City
McInerney has heaped praise on he “beautiful” link-up between Cherki and Foden in behind Haaland, and he hopes that Guardiola’s “solution” will be seen more often in future Man City matches.
He has also suggested that Cherki could one day have a creative influence on Man City comparable to that of club legend Kevin De Bruyne, who established himself as one the greatest playmakers in Premier League history during his memorable 10-year spell at the Etihad.
Speaking to Sports Mole, McInerney said: “I've been waiting for Haaland and Cherki for so long, and Foden and Haaland and Cherki. We all have as City fans, we've been excited for it, and it was as good as we hoped, it truly was!
“Okay, there's things to improve, but the link-up play between Foden and Cherki, who got all the assists (between them), and then Foden was always the pass beforehand as well - other than Nico Gonzalez for one of them - then Haaland absolutely thriving off the movement and the creativity of those two players. It was just beautiful.
“I love football when it looks joyous, and Cherki, Foden and even Haaland in his own barrelling, brilliant way, they sort of epitomise that to me and I got goosebumps watching it in the stadium.
"You could sense around the fans that everyone was excited because this was the first taste of something that could be special.
Manchester City's Rayan Cherki celebrating with Erling Haaland on November 2, 2025
Cherki “has the tools to be a special footballer” alongside Foden
“I'm not saying Cherki is De Bruyne, but he seems to be, in my opinion, cut from a very similar cloth. That guy just sees things that others don't. Even Pep has said that. It doesn't mean he'll be a great player, but he has the tools to be a special footballer.
“Not many do. Very rarely do you see a player with that level of natural talent where it just looks effortless to him. When you see a performance like that early on, against one of the best teams in the Premier League - and yes he could be better still - but look what Cherki’s done already.
"And look how Foden links up with him already. It’s not quite an ‘I was there moment’, but definitely a feeling that this is the glimpse of what could be, when [Sergio] Aguero bagged two against Swansea (on his debut), and Haaland was so impressive against West Ham on his debut.
“I know this was not his debut, but it felt like a moment for Cherki, that start with Haaland and Foden, and it was just exciting. It was exciting because they are so talented and Pep immediately found a solution to how you fit them on the pitch.
“He did it full of joy and he did it easily. I enjoyed it so much. As a football fan, as a football purist, more than anything. It was so exciting.”
> Click this link to view and listen to the full discussion
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