Man City have a player who is outperforming Lamine Yamal in 2025, he must start vs Bournemouth
Pep Guardiola needs to hand a start against Bournemouth to one of his players who has been performing better in a key area of the pitch than Lamine Yamal in 2025.
Man City have not quite got going as a team this season, with a clear reliance on the brilliance of Erling Haaland to see them through games.
Pep Guardiola‘s side are fifth with 16 points ahead of their home clash against Bournemouth on Sunday (2 November), and they will be buoyed by their strong showing against Swansea City in midweek when the burly Norwegian was not even in the squad.
Rayan Cherki was a key part of their 3-1 win as he registered an assist and scored late on for only his second and third goal involvements since the new season kicked off, after missing seven weeks due to injury issues.
City signed Cherki from Lyon in the summer to bolster their attacking and midfield ranks, and he could quickly become a real asset for their title hopes now that he seems to be fully fit once again.
Cherki has created the second-most big chances in 2025 across the top-five leagues
Cherki scored on his Premier League debut for the Citizens against Wolves in August, but only featured once more before suffering a thigh injury that kept him out until 18 October.
He came on as a late substitute in their three games prior to the trip to Swansea, but really proved his quality from the off in south Wales, albeit against Championship opposition.
The France international was a standout during his time at Lyon, with 12 goals and 20 assists in 44 appearances last season.
Despite a stop-start first few months at City, his impressive Ligue 1 exploits have seen him climb to second for the most big chances created across Europe’s top five leagues in the calendar year of 2025.
Cherki’s 18 big chances created sees him behind Michael Olise, who is well out in front with 29, but ahead of Barcelona star and Ballon d’Or runner-up Lamine Yamal, who has 17.
Guardiola has spoken highly of Cherki’s talents
Cherki certainly deserves a chance to start from the off against Bournemouth this weekend, considering his outstanding midweek showing and the fact that he could finally be the man to start performing close to Haaland’s level in the City team.
Guardiola admitted that City could not rush Cherki back earlier in October due to the nature of his thigh issue, and also moved to praise him highly ahead of his return to action.
He said: “Rayan [Cherki] has a special quality in tight games, in the final third – a vision and pass that is difficult to find. That’s why it’s important to come back and not take a step back.“
His availability is set to massively boost their chances of success in the short and long-term this season, and he now clearly needs to start more games after being bedded in with numerous substitute appearances.