Cherki changes it again for City

J

James212

Community Member
Joined
Jan 1, 2025
City nick it late again and it feels like one of those wins that will get talked about because of who came off the bench rather than the actual finish. Cherki seems to have turned the whole thing on its head in a short spell and Gvardiol pops up with another one of those goals that makes you wonder what position he actually plays.

Bournemouth will be gutted after holding on for so long and then letting it slip right at the end. City fans will be loving it, but the big talking point is surely whether Cherki should be starting more often after that impact. Feels like the sort of moment that changes a manager's thinking, even if some of the usual stubborn habits never really go away.
 
Every time Cherki gets a run he looks like he can actually make something happen and then you remember he was sat there for ages doing absolutely nothing, mad stuff
 
Went to the pub expecting a quiet night and ended up watching the lads around me absolutely lose it at the late one, proper scenes, one bloke had a City shirt on under his coat and was trying to act calm while everyone else was shouting about Cherki like he was the second coming and then the whole room started arguing about whether he should start every week or whether managers always overthink it and honestly by the end even the Bournemouth fan at the bar was just staring into his pint like he had seen the whole season flash before his eyes
 
Honestly this is the exact sort of thing that drives people mad because you can see it happening in real time, City keep the ball, Bournemouth hang on, then one moment of quality and suddenly everyone is pretending they always knew it was coming and the whole Cherki thing is just ridiculous because how can a player come on and instantly look like the only one willing to actually try a risky pass or a shot and then you know full well next match there will be some weird team selection again and people will be asking the same question all over like what is the point of having that kind of talent if you're going to keep hiding him on the bench for no reason at all
 
From a tactical point of view, the late goal is less surprising than the way Cherki altered the rhythm once he was introduced. He gave City a different kind of threat between the lines and Bournemouth could not really adjust quickly enough. But the emotional part is simple: if he keeps doing that, you cannot keep pretending this is optional because he is obviously affecting games and it is starting to feel ridiculous now
 
I am sorry but the way people keep acting like Gvardiol is just some normal centreback is killing me because the bloke turns up like a forward, finishes like a striker, and then everyone is shocked when he ends up in the right place again, and fair play to him but also why are we not talking about how Bournemouth must be absolutely sick of seeing that same sort of late nonsense and why does it always feel like City have got a defender who is somehow better at scoring than half the actual strikers in the league, it is mad and I am fully done with it now
 
Nah I dont buy the idea that this was just City being inevitable, Bournemouth made it far too easy in the end and that is the real issue here
 
Cherki clearly changed the game once he came on, and that is the clearest argument for giving him more minutes. At the same time, City still needed the rest of the side to keep pushing until the end, so it was a team effort rather than one man doing everything.
 
The shape looked flat until Cherki arrived and gave them some tempo between the lines, then Bournemouth started backing off and that is when City looked dangerous every time they went forward, they just needed one extra bit of bravery and the game opened up
 
Cherki coming on and immediately changing the match is exactly the sort of thing that makes fans lose their minds because it feels so obvious afterwards, and yet somehow the decision before the game was still to keep him on the bench, which is the part that does my head in. You can see why people are saying he should start because every time he gets involved the whole attack looks sharper and more direct and a bit less safe, and then there is Gvardiol again doing that weird thing where a defender finishes like a proper number nine, which is brilliant but also slightly annoying because how many times do you need to see the same pattern before you stop pretending it is a coincidence, it is just ridiculous and I am not even a City fan
 
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