Rayan Cherki: The Antidote to the Guardiola Way
- Abdullah Mamaniyat
- Nov 20
- 3 min read
That four-season stretch in Formula One from 2010 to 2013 was characterised by Sebastian Vettel's dominance. After his maiden title in 2010, the young German (touted as Michael Schumacher's successor) coasted to three more, often finishing with crushing leads over the second-place driver: 122 points in 2011, 91 points in 2012, and 155 points in 2013. While historic, this run of success made the sport predictable.
The pattern of single-driver domination continued with Lewis Hamilton winning six of the next seven championships, followed by Max Verstappen's current streak of four consecutive titles. The prospect of Lando Norris or Oscar Piastri finally breaking this run has recently injected a much-needed layer of unpredictability back into the sport.
This predictable supremacy echoes the feelings of non-Manchester City supporters during the Pep Guardiola era in the Premier League. Once he mastered English football, City became an almost inevitable force, often stringing together monster runs of 10 to 15 consecutive wins that would secure the title. Their haul of six league titles in the last eight seasons has made their mid-season form from January to May a normality.
Has Guardiola Become What He Loathed?
For so long, Pep’s possession ball was the yin to the yang of Jose Mourinho’s counter attacking football. It would be unfair to say that Guardiola has become the antithesis of his former self but rather has evolved with the game and played to the strengths of his standout player, Erling Haaland.
There is much more vertical directness to this City team, which previously would kill team by a thousand cuts. They are much more cut-throat, yet the watching audience has barely seen what this team is truly capable of yet as they learn to mesh in a somewhat ‘transitional’ year after much change.
The new setup which sees the team line up in a 4-1-4-1 formation has similarities to when Guardiola constructed his first great City team, with Kevin De Bruyne and David Silva sitting in as two ‘free’ 8’s in the side behind Sergio Aguero. The former Barcelona manager has seemingly found his best matching pair for the role in a rejuvenated Phil Foden and the exciting Rayan Cherki.
However, the last 3 wins against Borussia Dortmund (4-1), Bournemouth (3-1) & Liverpool (3-0) have all been as a starting 4-3-3 with Cherki playing on the right wing.
A Different Breed
Cherki is a technically sound player who has felt like has been around forever but only just getting started. His name has been flung around the wonderkid scene since the age of 15, but it took until the age of 21 for the Frenchman to get his big move to the Premier League.
However, it is worth noting that the last three crucial wins against Borussia Dortmund (4-1), Bournemouth (3-1), and Liverpool (3-0) have all seen the team start in a 4-3-3 with Cherki deployed on the right wing.
Cherki’s best return in a City shirt so far has been his two assists against Bournemouth, but the player himself doesn’t care much about the numbers. “In terms of statistics? I’m not a stats guy. I think you can see that in my football, I’m an old school player. Back in the old days, we didn’t look at statistics.”
Those 'old days' can’t be too old for the 22-year-old, but football has evolved so much in the last decade alone, turning itself into an entirely different, data-driven game. Both sides of the generational divide can certainly get behind those words. Whether it’s the grumpy ex-pro’s shouting about how much they hate xG, or the young generation wanting to experience the unadulterated joy of football that statistics often fail to quantify.
This is an era where every pass, dribble, and blade of grass covered is analysed. Cherki represents a throwback to a footballer painting the canvas of football with his expressive feet. Even more so, it is being facilitated by Guardiola, who has broken down his own stereotype to assert his dominance in a new-look way.
