Towards the end, with each ole from the away end becoming more pronounced, Rayan Cherki leaned on the back of his seat. Half-sat, half-stood.
Even having long been afforded some rest, the game well gone, Manchester City’s No 10 still appeared active and engaged in what was unfolding, clapping each completed pass as if one of the supporters singing their new earworm about Antoine Semenyo to the tune of Milky’s “Just The Way You Are”.
Too active, in fact. Jeremy Doku, in the row behind, couldn’t actually see and had to gently ask his team-mate to sit down properly. They laughed, Cherki apologised while lowering into the seat, safe in the knowledge that it was him who changed this game for City.
Or at least provided the injection of something more purposeful, immediately after the break, that ultimately blew Chelsea away and send shivers down the spines of anybody connected to Arsenal.
Assists for Nico O’Reilly and Marc Guehi – nobody has recorded more than his nine from open play in the league – are the headlines but the shot deflected wide by Marc Cucurella seconds after the restart and then darting past three defenders to win a corner gave Pep Guardiola’s the feeling of impetus. If Cherki runs, others follow and that is such a special quality to have in a first season in a new country at the age of 22.
It is 10 assists now, only Bruno Fernandes with more, but aside from the numbers it is the intangibles that he offers City in their hunt for an improbable title, a hunt that appears significantly more serious following the events of the weekend. The vigour with which their goals were celebrated by the whole bench suggests Guardiola’s staff believe this crown is within their reach.
Guardiola can appear frustrated at the Frenchman at times. He’s said as much publicly, while realising that this is the trade-off of a maverick. The astonishing rabona assist against Sunderland before Christmas was applauded by his manager yet all the while readying a rebuke had it not come off.
Guardiola talked about Cherki in the same breath as Lionel Messi in the aftermath of that magic but more around the idea that Messi does the simple stuff well. The showboating in the Carabao Cup final didn’t go down particularly well.
Yet that wasn’t the issue presented on Sunday.
‘Unique,’ is Guardiola’s description of an antidote to a brutish boredom that swarmed the Premier League. ‘His mum and dad gave a talent and play close to Haaland but sometimes he plays close to [Gianluigi] Donnarumma and that is useless.
‘First half, he played close to me! Play close to [Erling] Haaland and the wingers and the attacking midfielders and use the talent that mum and dad gave to you.
‘When he starts to do that, he will become an extraordinary player with his mindset and mentality. We’ll bring the ball to you. It’s not necessary to come down.’
Watching Bernardo Silva, in possession himself, physically wave Cherki away from dropping deeper into midfield during a torturous first half at Chelsea was the embodiment of Guardiola’s point.
Guardiola wants to harness the best of Cherki and there is something that he possesses that makes him stand out, especially in the dangerous pockets in a team coaching by Guardiola. He can slow moves down, speed them up, has that knack of knowing exactly when to accelerate. It’s Pep 101 and takes others years to perfect. This guy has it in the locker after seven months.
And when you marry that up with the sort of pass for Guehi’s goal, one that Guardiola himself admitting not to have spotted or visualised as the attack progressed, makes him – to quote the manager – ‘extraordinary’.
It does all bring the end-of-season awards into play. Cherki is making a late run for those. Given his age, the Young Player of the Year trophy ought to be well within his grasp at this stage. And really, he’s certainly worthy of at least a nomination for the main prize and should be prominent in that conversation.
Only Andy Gray, Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale have taken both in a single season. Not bad company to look at – and Cherki’s got another year in the junior category too, which in itself is a scary prospect.
