“I don’t feel the pressure” – Rayan Cherki reacts to five-star performance in Manchester City win over Chelsea

“I don’t feel the pressure” – Rayan Cherki reacts to five-star performance in Manchester City win over Chelsea

• Cherki supplied two assists in Man City’s 3-0 win vs Chelsea at Stamford Bridge
• France international starred as Pep Guardiola’s side capitalised on Arsenal loss to Bournemouth
• City six points behind Arsenal with a game in hand and will play Gunners at home next Sunday

Manchester City star Rayan Cherki has reacted to his man-of-the-match performance in Sunday’s 3-0 Premier League win over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

The 22-year-old was City’s most creative player in west London as Pep Guardiola‘s men closed the gap to Premier League leaders Arsenal to six points ahead of next weekend’s face-off with the Gunners at the Etihad Stadium.

Arsenal have played an additional game and Manchester City will win a seventh Premier League title if they go on and win all of their last seven games between now and the end of the season, having swept Chelsea apart in a dominant second-half showing on Sunday.

Match Report & Player Ratings: Chelsea 0-3 Manchester City (Premier League)

Nico O’Reilly, Marc Guehi and Jeremy Doku were among the goals for City on a successful evening down south as the Blues took full advantage of Arsenal’s shock 2-1 defeat at home to Bournemouth on Saturday afternoon.

Cherki: I’m very happy for Guehi

Cherki may not have grabbed the headlines or gotten on the scoresheet against Chelsea but the France international was once again Manchester City’s best hope in producing the cutting edge in attack against a Chelsea defence that kept the visitors at bay in the opening 45 minutes.

The former Lyon midfielder, who joined Manchester City for £34 million last summer, produced a beauty of a cross for O’Reilly’s opener before teeing up Guehi for the second six minutes later to help his side establish a two-goal lead before the hour mark in London.

“When I gave the pass to Marc (Guehi), I’m not good because I don’t know if he’ll score,” Cherki said in a post-match interview with Sky Sports. “But when I saw him score, I’m very happy for him, for the team.”

I don’t feel the pressure & just want to pleasure, says Cherki

Since Kevin De Bruyne‘s notable departure from the Etihad Stadium last summer, Cherki has thrived as Manchester City’s new architect-in-chief as he once again underlined why the Blues and director of football Hugo Viana were keen to secure his services.

“And now we can go play against Arsenal – that is a big game for us,” Cherki added. “I don’t feel the pressure. I just want to play with my teammates, give the pleasure, give the good pass for Marc (Guehi), for Erling (Haaland) – or all the players, because we need goals, we need to not concede goals – and he (Guehi) did a big job for us today. And we are very happy.”

Nico O’Reilly suffers hamstring injury in Manchester City clash with Chelsea

Cherki is one of the first names on Guardiola’s teamsheet and after grabbing two crucial assists on Sunday, the midfielder will have a huge say in Manchester City’s must-win Premier League meeting with Arsenal next weekend.