'Unbelievable' Cherki proves his point

Enzo Maresca revealed Rayan Cherki was frustrated to be left on the bench, before the "unbelievable" Manchester City playmaker inspired a dramatic 2-1 win against Bournemouth on Sunday.

For his first Premier League game as City boss, Maresca opted for Phil Foden and Antoine Semenyo instead of Cherki.

But, with City trailing to Marcus Tavernier's first-half goal at the Etihad Stadium, the Italian was forced into a change of plan in the 62nd minute.

Maresca sent on Cherki, who is short of full fitness after the World Cup, and the French star responded by showing why he should have started in the first place.

Cherki's corner was headed in by Marc Guehi for City's 84th minute equalizer. He then played a deft pass to Josko Gvardiol, who slotted the winning goal two minutes into stoppage time.

"The impact was unbelievable, he is that kind of player," Maresca said.

"I like Rayan, I told him also after the game, but sometimes when you plan a game, and you already have (picked) four out of 11 players who arrived late (from holidays), if you go with one more, maybe the difference is too big."

Cherki sometimes frustrated Maresca's predecessor Pep Guardiola with his volatile personality and habit of unfurling flamboyant tricks instead of simple passes last season.

But Maresca insisted he had no problem with Cherki's character or ability.

"Rayan is quite a nice and clear boy. If he is not happy, he wants to show it and I know that he was not happy today, but, in the end, I had to make a decision," Maresca said.

After the previous week's thrashing by Arsenal in the Community Shield, former Chelsea boss Maresca was able to celebrate his first win since replacing Guardiola.

"It is the perfect day. I was very pleased when the game started to see the banner and we gave the fans the joy of the three points at the end. It was quite emotional," he said.

"The spirit was fantastic. It's a game we deserved to win early with the amount of chances we had."

Guehi was deployed in an unfamiliar midfield role by Maresca, alongside new signing Elliot Anderson, who failed to impress on his debut.

With City closing in on a deal for Morocco midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi from Lille, it was likely just a short-term option.

But Maresca had no regrets about using Guehi out of position, despite his team's tepid performance.

"I know Marc from (Crystal) Palace, and always thought he could be a good midfielder. It was a good performance from him," he said.

"The good thing is, he now gives us an option for the future."

AFP