City Watch: Cherki inspires Blues in Selhurst Park rout

Manchester City continued their perfect start to the Premier League season on Friday night with an impressive 4-1 victory over Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park.

It was a particularly pleasing result given that Selhurst Park has proved to be a bit of a banana skin for City over the years. Palace have only won one of their opening home Premier League games since returning to the top flight, so perhaps the statistics were on our side, but I certainly wasn’t expecting it to end up being quite as comfortable as it was.

The first half was decent without being spectacular, but after the break we really stepped up the intensity, moved the ball quicker and eventually blew Palace away, and once again, Rayan Cherki was at the heart of it.

The first half was probably the quietest we’ve seen him since arriving at the club, he was nowhere near himself and struggled to get into the game, but I’m guessing there were a few choice words from Enzo Maresca at half-time and whatever was said clearly worked.

Cherki came out for the second half looking like a completely different player and was exceptional, scoring twice as City took control of the game. His first goal in particular was absolutely ridiculous as he picked the ball up in an incredibly tight area, somehow managed to shake off four Palace players surrounding him inside the penalty area and then squeezed the ball past Dean Henderson.

It was one of those goals where you almost have to watch it back a few times to understand how he’s managed to get through. There are very few players who can produce something like that in such a confined space, and it is exactly why I have been so excited about Cherki since he arrived.

I’ve said it before, but Rayan  is just a beautiful footballer, there is something about the way he moves with the ball that makes him so enjoyable to watch. He sees passes other players don’t, he’s incredibly comfortable in tight areas and there’s always a feeling that something is going to happen when he gets on the ball. I genuinely think I could sit and watch 90 minutes of just the Cherki playing football.

We’ve had plenty of players capable of controlling games and doing the efficient things brilliantly over the years, but you also need those players who can produce a bit of magic when a defence is sitting in front of you and Cherki looks like he could become exactly that player for us.

Away from the pitch, Tuesday night saw the transfer window slam shut, and City somehow managed to have one of their busiest deadline days in recent memory. First came Iliman Ndiaye from Everton and for a while, it looked almost certain that City were going to sign Cody Gakpo from Liverpool, but that deal fell through after the Reds couldn’t find a suitable replacement. In light of this, the Blues were forced to quickly pivot and instead brought in the 26-year-old Ndiaye.

I actually really like the signing; he’s a pacy, technically gifted winger who can play across the front line and gives Maresca another attacking option. With Savinho having left for Tottenham, adding another player who can provide pace and creativity makes a lot of sense.

On the local side of things, with this being a column for Tameside, Iliman spent some time on loan with one of our local teams, Hyde United, back in the 2019/20 season, so he’s not totally unfamiliar with the area!

Not long after Ndiaye’s confirmation, the one that has been speculated for weeks came, Enzo Fernandez. The Argentine’s move from Chelsea had been rumoured for some time, but on Tuesday it was finally confirmed, with City paying a reported £125 million for his services, equalling the British transfer record.

There is obviously plenty of controversy and mixed opinion surrounding Fernandez, particularly following the incident involving the Argentina squad after the World Cup. I’m not going to get into all of that here, because ultimately City have signed him as a footballer, and there is no denying that he is a fantastic one.

The big question for me is where does he actually fit into this team? We’ve only just signed Ayyoub Bouaddi from Lille, who looks like the long-term replacement for Rodri, while Elliot Anderson has also arrived to strengthen the midfield. Now we’ve added Fernandez to the mix, there are suddenly a lot of players competing for relatively few positions.

Does Fernandez replace Bouaddi in the starting XI? Does he play ahead of Anderson? Does Anderson move into a different role? Or does Maresca find a system that allows all three to feature regularly?

That’s the luxury of having a squad packed with quality, though, with competition for places  and exactly what City need with a new manager. If Maresca can get everyone fighting for their place, it can only benefit the team.

Two games into Maresca’s competitive reign and City have won both, leaving us top of the Premier League, which is exactly what we could have hoped for. The performances haven’t been perfect, and there are still plenty of things that need improving, but there is already a sense that the new manager is beginning to put his stamp on the team.

An old player of ours, Frank Lampard and Coventry are up next at home this weekend, and they couldn’t have got off to a worse start, losing both of their opening games so City should be looking to make it three wins from three before attention turns to Europe.

Porto away awaits next week in our first Champions League fixture of the season, and that will provide a completely different test for Maresca and his squad, with some unwanted memories coming along with this fixture.

The last time City played at the Estádio do Dragão was the 2021 Champions League final, where Chelsea beat us 1-0 in Porto and left us waiting for that elusive first Champions League trophy.

Thankfully, a lot has changed since then and this is a completely different Manchester City, with a new manager, new players and a new era beginning at the club. Three wins from three would be the perfect way to start it.