‘A very special player’ – Rayan Cherki making big impact in final season at Lyon | OneFootball

“It is important to understand that Rayan is a very special player with incredible talent, but one who benefits greatly from the collective,” said Olympique Lyonnais assistant manager Jorge Maciel following Rayan Cherki’s (21) decisive substitute appearance against OGC Nice on Sunday night.

The France youth international needed less than 60 seconds to make an impact. With the game at 0-0, Cherki came on and immediately scored with his first touch of the match to unblock what had been a tightly contested affair at the Allianz Riviera.

Maciel highlighted the tactical switch, which gave Lyon greater width and allowed Cherki to “benefit from the favourable context”, however, the OL academy product got his flowers, not just from Maciel but also from Lucas Perri. “He is an incredible player. He scores with his first touch and he helps us a lot every match,” said the Lyon goalkeeper.

“He is one of the best passers in the league,” added Maciel. That is now reflected in the assist rankings. Cherki tops the list with nine, whilst thanks to his goal against Nice, he now also has six goals in Ligue 1. In what looks set to be his final season with Les Gones, the Frenchman is having a big impact.

GFFN | Luke Entwistle – reporting from Nice