Long live Rayan Cherki! 23 moments of genius from the Premier League's great entertainer

AFC BournemouthArsenalAston VillaBrentfordBrighton & Hove AlbionBurnleyChelseaCrystal PalaceEvertonFulhamLeeds UnitedLiverpoolManchester CityManchester UnitedNewcastle UnitedNottingham ForestSunderlandTottenham HotspurWest Ham UnitedWolverhampton WanderersScores & ScheduleStandingsFantasyThe Athletic FC NewsletterPodcasts Gareth Copley/Getty Images Share article“If you don’t play with pleasure, you can’t show what you want.” Football, Rayan Cherki said during a day-in-the-life feature with Manchester City earlier this week, is like art for him. The Frenchman talked about the joy he gets from entertaining people and playing in a way that allows supporters to forget about their everyday lives for 90 minutes. Prodigiously talented, equally comfortable on either foot and blessed with an extraordinary repertoire of flicks and tricks, Cherki would have lit up the Premier League in any season. But his impact since arriving from Lyon last summer has felt all the more refreshing because of the way in which the Premier League has got lost in a world of pragmatism. Cherki prefers backheels to long-throws. Aged 22, Cherki has been a breath of fresh air. He has nine goals in all competitions and is the first player to register 10 assists in their debut Premier League season since Dimitri Payet in 2015-16 — and bear in mind Cherki has only played 1,384 top-flight minutes. Yet his contribution since signing for City can’t be measured by facts and figures alone. How, for example, do you begin to explain the pass that he lifted over the head of Marc Cucurella at Stamford Bridge last Sunday? That wonderful piece of improvisation features among the 23 moments that we have chosen to tell the story of Cherki’s first season in English football, which includes everything from nutmegs and backheels to an unexpected handshake with an opposition goalscorer. 1. Welcome to the Premier League — Wolves (away), August 16, 2025 A goal on his Premier League debut that featured a back-heel flick for a one-two with Nico O’Reilly, who wasn’t quite ready for that (the City players soon got up to speed; Cherki does two or three of those every game), followed by a stepover and a right-footed shot drilled home from the edge of the area. Fairly standard Cherki fare, to be honest, but a promising introduction nonetheless. Du génie 💫🤩 pic.twitter.com/pTGPGra8qu — Manchester City (@ManCityFra) August 18, 2025 2. Eye of a needle — Everton (home), October 18, 2025 Returning from injury after six weeks out, Cherki appeared with five minutes remaining against Everton and it’s no exaggeration to say that half a dozen clips could be picked from his cameo, including another exquisite backheel. After coming on in the 85th minute… 😮‍💨 pic.twitter.com/P5MewqBtD0 — Manchester City (@ManCity) October 19, 2025 The highlight for us was the free-kick that Cherki played from just inside his own half. It took five Everton players out of the game (a penny for the thoughts of James Tarkowski in particular), and set Erling Haaland clean through on goal, only for Jordan Pickford to save. 3. Bit of backspin, anyone? — Bournemouth (home), November 2, 2025 Same combination but a different outcome as Cherki clips a first-time left-footed pass behind the Bournemouth defence for Haaland to score. The way Cherki receives from Phil Foden — face on — allows him to sweep the ball across himself but not follow through with his kicking action, which puts back-spin on a lofted pass that drops perfectly into Haaland’s path. Makes you wonder what Cherki’s like at golf. That was Cherki’s second assist of the game following a headed through-ball (no, really) earlier on. Rayan Cherki created both of Erling Haaland’s goals in @ManCity’s win against Bournemouth 🤝 pic.twitter.com/uFG7o7Q9Ay — Premier League (@premierleague) November 3, 2025 4. One way out — Borussia Dortmund (home), November 5, 2025 Another late substitute appearance that delivered a showreel, including Cherki’s first Champions League goal and — there’s a theme developing here — an outrageous backheel. Three Dortmund players have their eyes on Cherki, who finds himself down a cul-de-sac and facing the wrong way. Cherki casually backheels the ball between two of the Dortmund players to release Rayan Ait-Nouri. It’s like a comedy sketch as the Dortmund players turn to see where the ball has gone. A minute later Cherki drifts in from the left and opens his Champions League account. Rayan Cherki seals the game for Manchester City, rising from the bench to expertly put fire the ball into the Dortmund net to make it 4-1 💥 Watch on @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/Q2diuUrReh — Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) November 5, 2025 5. Dancing feet — Sunderland (home), December 6, 2025 Poor Omar Alderete. Poor Dan Ballard. Poor Sunderland. Running on to a Bernardo Silva pass, Cherki shapes to cross the ball with his right foot, chops back onto his left and then transfers it to his right again, wrong-footing Alderete (that’s being polite). Ballard comes across and ends up doing the splits as Cherki slaloms around him. Even with Sunderland goalkeeper Robin Roefs coming out to close him down and the six-yard box a scene of chaos, Cherki has the presence of mind to realise that his best option is to pick out Haaland with a delicate chip. Out comes the pitching wedge and Haaland should score with a right-footed volley. Rayan Cherki was magic for @mancity against Sunderland 🪄 pic.twitter.com/bjMXjHLqEh — Premier League (@premierleague) December 7, 2025 6. Messi doesn’t it cross it like that — Sunderland (home), December 6, 2025 There is no need for Cherki to pull out the rabona, given that we’re talking about the most two-footed player in the Premier League — actually, maybe in world football. But unlike Pep Guardiola, we’re all for Cherki doing things that are beautifully unnecessary. The rabona cross was delivered with his right foot and picked out Foden. When the two embraced, Foden looked at the City fans, pointed to Cherki, puffed out his cheeks and shook his head in a mixture of amazement and awe. Guardiola, in contrast, was upset. “I never saw Messi play a cross like he has done,” the City manager said. Take a bow, Rayan Cherki 🤩 pic.twitter.com/aBnOd5vID6 — Premier League (@premierleague) December 6, 2025 7. Flicks, flicks & more flicks — Crystal Palace (away), December 14, 2025 In the absence of any footage of Cherki turning Selhurst Park into his playground (other than videos of his assist for Foden, which was brilliant but not quite what we’re after), you’ll have to take our word for it (and there are images below to help) that he came close to breaking the unofficial record for the most backheels in a match. Three are highlighted in this GIF, with the last of them (picture seven onwards) arguably the pick of the bunch because of the way that Cherki, showing confidence bordering on arrogance, nonchalantly allows the ball to slide off the outside of his left foot, and into the path of Bernardo. If only he could learn to relax a bit more on the pitch. 8. Not that way, Mikkel — Brentford (home), December 17, 2025 The right-footed shot, curled into the top corner from just outside the penalty area, is superb, but it’s the chop, just after taking the ball down on his chest, that sets everything up. Mikkel Damsgaard ends up facing one way and Cherki the other, after the Brentford midfielder sprints across the area to close him down. Damsgaard assumed Cherki would strike the ball with his left. By the time he tried to make an emergency stop, he was anxiously looking back over his shoulder as Cherki prepared to shoot with his right. The technique is exceptional. Stunning.@rayan_cherki ✨ pic.twitter.com/JQ9Pixdf6B — Manchester City (@ManCity) December 18, 2025 9. Cherki’s coaching manual — West Ham United (home), December 20, 2025 When the passing lane is blocked, players are typically coached to use another player — “the third man” — to find a way to get the ball to the team-mate who is hidden. There are all sorts of masterclasses explaining how to achieve that, including a fascinating video from Xavi on the third-man concept that was intrinsic to how Barcelona played. Cherki, naturally, has his own solution and you won’t find it in any coaching manual. He flicks the ball up and volleys it over the head of the West Ham left-back Oliver Scarles, and Tijjani Reijnders receives it on the other side. Simple, really. 10. La Croqueta — West Ham (home), December 20, 2025 Mateus Fernandes overruns the ball and Cherki, using a move known as La Croqueta — prime Andres Iniesta, basically — elegantly shifts it between his left and right foot to dance away from the West Ham midfielder. After dribbling into the penalty area with his left foot, he squeezes a ball between two West Ham players with his right (just in case this message hasn’t come through already, it really helps to be two-footed, kids). Haaland offloads the ball to Reijnders and City have a second goal. Cherki. Haaland. Reijnders. Goal ⚽️ The perfect @ManCity combination 👏 pic.twitter.com/VFiwi9TSOD — Premier League (@premierleague) December 20, 2025 11. Receive left, pass right — Nottingham Forest (away), December 27, 2025 A go-to move for City and Cherki, who loves a reverse pass, often threaded straight for a diagonal run. It’s a move that plays to his skillset because he can receive or dribble with one foot (the left in this case) and pass so easily with the other. In this instance, there’s additional disguise on the pass because of the way that Cherki pivots from his left to right foot, almost chopping down on the ball that he delivers to Reijnders. It’s classic No 1o play, in an era when the No 10 is supposed to be dead. Tijjani Reijnders links up with Rayan Cherki to open the scoring for Man City!@tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/Z48lqRFAm4 — Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) December 27, 2025 12. Any foot, any time, any place — Nottingham Forest (away), December 27, 2025 A set piece designed for a man who couldn’t care less whether the ball arrives on his left or right foot, on the floor or in the air. Stepping onto Josko Gvardiol’s header from a corner, Cherki takes the ball first-time, on the half volley, on his right foot (allegedly his weaker foot; allegations that are totally unproven), and drills City into the lead. Rayan Cherki is left with space in the box and restores Man City’s lead. @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/s4FchxHFvy — Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) December 27, 2025 13. A free ‘sole’ — Sunderland (away), January 1, 2026 There’s a time and a place to take players on, and just outside your own penalty area with the game goalless doesn’t tick either box, especially against a team that presses aggressively. Unless you’re Cherki — a “free soul”  (Guardiola’s words) — and play how you please. As Trai Hume and Simon Adingra hunt him down, Cherki performs a Cruyff turn on the former and a lovely drag-back on the latter, using the sole of his foot (the most used sole in world football) to pull the ball back with his left before quickly pushing it forward with his right, and all in one smooth motion. Adingra is bamboozled and brings Cherki down. 14. ‘Bien joué, mon garçon!’ — Exeter City (home), January 10, 2026 Exeter, a struggling League One club, were 9-0 down against City at the Etihad Stadium in the FA Cup when 19-year-old George Birch arrowed the ball into the top corner from 23 yards out. It was the goal of the game on a day that Cherki didn’t score. As Birch ran back to the halfway line with the ball under his arm (teenage optimism at its best, mindful Exeter needed another eight goals to force extra-time), Cherki held out his hand to congratulate him. Birch was so taken aback that he almost ran straight on by. Rayan Cherki went out of his way to praise Exeter City’s George Birch after his first senior goal made it 9-1 against Man City 👏 (via @officialecfc) pic.twitter.com/S5v1gEtgf5 — Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) January 14, 2026 15. Genius — Newcastle United (away), January 13, 2026 A work of art because of the way in which this goal is beautifully constructed by Ait-Nouri and Cherki, who plays football in the same way that the snooker legend Ronnie O’Sullivan makes a 147 break: always thinking several shots ahead (passes in Cherki’s case, obviously). Firstly, Cherki moves on the blindside of Joelinton, taking up a position to receive from Antoine Semenyo. Ait-Nouri is on the move before Semenyo plays that pass, and that allows the left-back to collect Cherki’s wonderful flick (you can hear a collective intake of breath in the stadium). Cherki’s first thought after that flick — actually, before that flick — is to get into position for the return. Ait-Nouri obliges and Cherki sweeps home first-time. A lovely goal. “Manchester City dish out a serious blow” 💥 Rayan Cherki scores in the 99th minute! pic.twitter.com/cYpqDwAksp — Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) January 13, 2026 16. Tying Burn & Ramsey in knots — Newcastle (home), February 4, 2026 James Trafford rolls the ball out to the feet of Cherki, who is 30 yards from his goal. As Dan Burn runs in to press, Cherki shifts away from him and is immediately confronted by Jacob Ramsey. Cherki glides around Ramsey using his favourite La Croqueta move and then tucks the ball between Burn’s legs. Naughty. Burn keeps on running — heading west. Cherki is now travelling north. In the background, Abdukodir Khusanov puts a hand on his head, flabbergasted at what he has just seen. Ramsey, to his credit, comes back for more. Using the Frenkie de Jong turn, Cherki fakes to keep running and turns back on himself, and Ramsey runs three yards past. After all of that, Cherki passes back to Rodri. City have no longer escaped the Newcastle press, but they still have the ball and Cherki, you sense, has made himself feel good. Think of it like going Christmas shopping and buying yourself a present. A magician at work 🪄 pic.twitter.com/HPE5C8C0lK — Manchester City (@ManCity) February 5, 2026 17. Inch-perfect — Leeds United (away), February 28, 2026 Three-versus-three on City’s left-hand side, seconds before the half-time whistle sounds at Elland Road. Cherki is on the ball, patiently waiting for the movement that will prise open a gap to thread a pass. As Ait-Nouri darts in behind, Omar Marmoush runs laterally towards the touchline, dragging James Justin with him, and that creates the passing lane for Cherki to feed the City left-back. If you could pick the ball up and place it on the spot of grass where it needs to be in order for Ait-Nouri to cross without breaking his stride, it’s exactly where Cherki’s pass ends up. Ait-Nouri delivers a low centre and Cherki is literally skipping with joy (fourth image in the GIF above) as Semenyo arrives to convert. Cherki 🤝 Ait-Nouri 🤝 Semenyo pic.twitter.com/L6KbSL1Z0s — Manchester City (@ManCity) February 28, 2026 18. Not in the script — West Ham (away), March 14, 2026 Hang on a minute, we didn’t sign up for this kind of content. It’s 1-1 with less than four minutes remaining, West Ham are on the counter-attack and Cherki is sprinting back from inside his own half to rob Jarrod Bowen of the ball. Even allowing for the fact that Cherki lost possession in the first place, this is not the sort of defensive work that we were led to believe he embraces. What have you done to him, Pep? 19. Ball-juggling at Wembley — Arsenal, March 22, 2026 Ah, this is much more like it. Close to the left touchline, Cherki takes a diagonal pass on his chest and instead of letting the ball drop, keeps it up with his left foot, then his right, then his left again. Manchester City are leading 2-0 against Arsenal in the Carabao Cup final and Cherki is ball-juggling. Guardiola is shown shaking his head, Ben White clatters into Cherki moments later, and a moral panic follows, including Alan Pardew (didn’t he once dance on the touchline in a cup final that his team lost?) telling us that ball-juggling during a game is an insult. Some of us just saw it for what it was: Cherki being Cherki. Safe to say Ben White and Pep Guardiola weren’t fans of Rayan Cherki’s juggling… 🤹😅 pic.twitter.com/JmLLNGlxuR — Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) March 23, 2026 20. Sorcery — Liverpool (home), April 4 2026 What even is this trick? Up against Milos Kerkez on the City right, Cherki places his left foot on top of the ball and passes it with his right before his left foot has returned to the ground (it’s a lot more fun than that sounds). Poetry in motion 🥹@ErlingHaaland @ManCity #EmiratesFACup pic.twitter.com/R1iPAJB1YA — Emirates FA Cup (@EmiratesFACup) April 5, 2026 Did he need to do that? Possibly not. Is he showboating? Probably. Have you got a problem with that? Personally, no. End result? Semenyo runs onto the ball and crosses for Haaland to send a glancing header into the far corner. Cherki ➡️ Semenyo ➡️ Haaland 🎯 pic.twitter.com/7pB4oc5Lt7 — Manchester City (@ManCity) April 5, 2026 21. Let me entertain you — Liverpool (home), April 4, 2026 As worrying Cherki sights go, this must be right up there for Guardiola. Cherki is not only dribbling in his own penalty area but also running in the wrong direction. All the while, Dominik Szoboszlai is hounding him. Any other footballer would lay the ball off to Khusanov, who is totally free. But Cherki holds onto it, retreats to his own by-line, turns one way and then the other, throws in a sole roll for good measure, waits for Florian Wirtz to come over too, and then passes the ball between the two Liverpool players. As Szoboszlai stands with arms by his side, baffled by what has just happened, Cherki sets off on a celebration, arms aloft, by the corner flag, milking the applause. You can’t help but smile. 22. Pass of the season — Chelsea (away), April 12, 2026 A pass so good that only Cherki saw it. There are 15 players within 10 yards of Cherki as he glides across the edge of a crowded penalty area, away from Jorrel Hato and then Estevao. At pitch level, travelling at speed, that must look like a blur of bodies. Glancing out of the corner of his eye, Cherki spots Marc Guehi and a split-second later stabs the ball with his left foot. The disguise on the pass is so clever that three Chelsea players — Malo Gusto, Pedro Neto and Joao Pedro — are totally wrong-footed at the moment of contact, all of them expecting Cherki to go on the outside, where Bernardo is totally free. Played over a distance of less than 10 yards, the pass is guided perfectly between Neto and Joao Pedro. It’s more than an assist; it’s the pass of the season. Rayan Cherki. To Marc Guehi. To pure joy ☺️ 🔵 @ManCity pic.twitter.com/02h7Fj8E8H — Premier League (@premierleague) April 17, 2026 23. Back to Cherki’s coaching manual — Chelsea (away), Apr 12, 2026 West Ham at home all over again. Cherki is trapped against the right touchline and standing with his left foot on top of the ball, in the same way that footballers posed for photos at the start of the 20th century. Cucurella is cutting off a pass down the line (at least that’s what he thinks). What’s interesting here is that Semenyo sets off early on a run in behind, suggesting that the City players know what’s coming (has Guardiola actually signed this move off?), unlike when Cherki did it against West Ham. Either way, Cherki casually flicks up the ball — it’s so carefree that it could be part of his warm-up (that’s worth watching, by the way) — and volleys it over the head of Cucurella, perfectly into Semenyo’s stride. The Stamford Bridge crowd gasp (a lovely sound, that) at the audacity of it. Trademark Cherki. @ManCity @rayan_cherki 💫 pic.twitter.com/V7ait3L1Xm — Premier League (@premierleague) April 14, 2026 Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms A former professional footballer with Swindon Town, Stuart James went onto spend 15 years working for The Guardian, where he reported on far too many relegation battles to mention, one miraculous Premier League title triumph and a couple of World Cups. He joined The Athletic as a Senior Writer in 2019. Follow Stuart on Twitter @stujames75