Swansea City 1-3 Manchester City: Cherki shines in EFL Cup comeback
Making his first start since August, Rayan Cherki delivered a fine display for Manchester City in their EFL Cup clash with Swansea City.
Rayan Cherki grabbed a goal and an assist to help Manchester City come from a goal down to progress to the quarter-finals of the EFL Cup with a 3-1 win over Swansea City.
Having fallen at this stage to Tottenham last season, City ensured there would be no early exit in Wales here, though they were made to work for their triumph.
A low-key opening at Swansea.com Stadium burst into life in the 12th minute when Goncalo Franco curled a stunning strike into the top-right corner with the aid of the post.
The Championship side came close to doubling their advantage soon after, but a sprawling stop from James Trafford denied Melker Widell following Abdukodir Khusanov's error.
Pep Guardiola's side soon found their groove and almost levelled eight minutes before the break through Cherki, who rattled the post with a prodded strike from close range.
But just over a minute later, City restored parity when Jeremy Doku's mazy run from the left-hand side ended with a shot that deflected off Cameron Burgess and into the net.
A barrage of chances for the Citizens followed in the second half, but Cherki, Omar Marmoush and Oscar Bobb were unable to trouble Swansea's stern defensive rearguard.
However, the visitors were eventually able to breach their opponents' back line again in the 77th minute, with Marmoush turning neatly onto Cherki's throughball before rifling the ball beyond Andy Fisher and into the roof of the net.
And the result was sealed by the impressive Cherki in the third minute of stoppage time, with the Frenchman capping a fine individual display by picking out the bottom-right corner from inside the penalty area.
Data Debrief: Cherki caps job well done for City
Having failed to win the EFL Cup since 2020-21, Guardiola will be hoping for a good run in this year's competition, and they laid down a statement of intent here, albeit against Championship opposition.
Indeed, the Citizens registered an expected goals (xG) total of 1.44 from their 24 shots, only six of which were on target, compared to Swansea's 0.13 from their two attempts, with the Premier League quality showing in the final third.
Making his first start in any competition since a 2-0 defeat to Spurs in the top-flight in August, Cherki led the way for City, ending the game with team-high totals for chances created (six) and passes in the final third (59), while only Nico Gonzalez (146) had more touches than him (119).
