"I like simplicity." Guardiola criticizes rabona assist by Cherki
Jan Novak
Dailysports's expert
Manchester City, in the 15th round of the English Premier League, defeated Sunderland at home. The Citizens netted three unanswered goals and closed the gap on Arsenal.
The third goal featured an unusual assist from Rayan Cherki. The Frenchman delivered a rabona cross from the right flank to Foden, who sealed the final score. Remarkably, after the match, Pep Guardiola did not approve of his player's flashy trick.
I have never seen Messi play and make a cross like that… Messi is the greatest player in history, and even from him I've never seen such passes. A cross is fine, it's all good… It doesn't matter if it's with the right foot, the left, the outside of the boot, the head—it doesn't matter. If it works, great. But I like simplicity, and I want my players to do the simple things well, and only then—if you can pull off a rabona assist, if you have a special talent your mom and dad gave you—then do what you want. But if it doesn't work, then there are problems. Then you'll be in trouble.
For the record, Cherki recorded two assists in this match, and since joining from Lyon, he has already scored four goals and provided seven assists in 18 matches.
