Rayan Cherki levels up for Lyon!
One To Watch
After several seasons of showing his promise, but lacking consistency, can Olympique Lyonnais' Rayan Cherki become the next Gone to make his mark on the game?
A season of consistency, despite churn at the club
"When you have Rayan Cherki at this level, it's difficult for us to lose," smiled Corentin Tolisso, Lyon's captain on Sunday. "He was very effective. Two assists, a goal, I'm very happy for him." It's safe to say that the veteran midfielder, leading his side in Paulo Fonseca's second Ligue 1 McDonald's match in the absence of Alexandre Lacazette, wasn't the only one to be happy for the playmaker. In Sunday's early match, Lyon handily took advantage of Stade de Reims (and of losses by Monaco and Lille) to move to within four points of the top four.
While their league form has been inconsistent (to say nothing of their elimination in the Coupe de France by amateurs Bourgoin-Jallieu) this season, Lyon have impressed in Europe, having finished sixth in the Europa League league phase, and while the dismissal of manager Pierre Sage has particularly stung those with long histories with the club, there is a feeling now with Fonseca at the helm that Lyon can make real progress, with Cherki (despite almost moving to Dortmund in the winter) the centrepiece of the team.
Rayan Cherki once again 💫🇫🇷 pic.twitter.com/CQc8JythmR
— Ligue 1 English (@Ligue1_ENG) February 9, 2025
Sunday's match saw Cherki record his fifth and sixth assists of the season in Ligue 1 McDonald's -- only PSG's JoĂŁo Neves has more, and his goal brought his total to four. No player on the team has more goal contributions, despite nine outfield players having more minutes. His performance on Sunday was a thing of beauty, and also offered a perfect distillation of his versatility, as he was involved in each of his side's four goals in the match.
Playing on the right of a 4-2-3-1, after a mazy run his ball out wide found Tolisso who crossed for Nicolás Tagliafico for the opener, just reward for the hosts in a match in which Reims were making heavy weather of the encounter. On the second, he floated a delicate ball in to the area, and Tolisso gladly headed home after peeling away from his marker, while he scored the third himself, benefiting from some sublime dummies along the way, before unselfishly setting up Georges Mikautadze for the fourth in added time.
Speaking post-match, Cherki was coy about how the arrival of Fonseca had helped, but it's clear that the Portuguese's more attacking philosophy can only benefit the player. Said Cherki, . "I can't reveal our secrets, but the coach asks me to be myself, to play as I know how to do, to try to play in my teammates." Now with 11 assists in all competitions, Cherki has the chance to help his team recalibrate and climb the league table while also progressing in Europe, further burnishing his reputation as one of the league's top young stars.
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