3 days ago
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Manchester City stars Rayan Cherki and Savinho both came off the bench at Fulham and enjoyed contrasting fortunes
Rayan Cherki only came onto the Craven Cottage pitch in the 82nd minute yet there were few players Pep Guardiola spoke more highly of afterwards. With Manchester City on the ropes as a rampant Fulham looked for an equaliser that would have completed the most unlikely of comebacks, bringing Cherki on for Reijnders could have been seen as a surprisingly attacking change.
It was of course typical of Guardiola though, who prefers to defend with his team having the ball. In an eventful 19-minute cameo, Cherki got a yellow card for attempting to boot the ball out of the stadium when Fulham won a free-kick but otherwise treated the ball like it was his personal property.
Guardiola dished out enormous praise afterwards, drawing a comparison with Thiago Alcantara as a player who he knew would keep possession. Crediting the France star for seeing out a dramatic victory, Tuesday night felt like a significant step forward in the early stages of his City career.
"Rayan Cherki is new, today Rayan Cherki in the last minutes and Bernardo and Nico O'Reilly were the key to keep less chance to concede a goal," he said. "They made a step up in the last minutes, especially Rayan, who was exceptional."
Savinho got a mention in the press conference for an 'incredible' cross that Erling Haaland looked to have scored from in the second half, only to see it bounce off the inside of the post and away from danger. It was an example of the service that the Brazilian winger hopes to provide.
Otherwise though, it was another frustrating appearance off the bench for a player who is still to get going this season. Replacing Jeremy Doku with the score at 5-2, Savinho made a number of poor decisions when he did get the ball that invited more pressure on City as Fulham took advantage.
As the final whistle went, Guardiola strode onto the pitch and ended up singling out Savinho for a chat just as he had done with Haaland after the Leeds game. The pair discussed things for about a minute before the manager moved on for further debriefs.
"Stay focused on what you believe in, pour all the energy within you and most of all, have attitude," Savinho would later post on social media. "Believe that you are capable, never doubt the possibilities, anything is possible!!"
If Cherki's stock went up in the Fulham game, Savinho needs more focus on what Guardiola wants.
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