From our special correspondent in Izmit (Türkiye),
What if we already had the main innovation of the Zidane era? Since joining the French team, Michael Olise and Rayan Cherki have become more accustomed to high-fiving each other when the latter replaces the former than to exchanging passes on the pitch from the kick-off. They have a similar profile, it is true, both left-handed, very good technicians and passionately in love with the ball. But for his first time as coach, Friday evening in Izmit, Zizou did not hesitate to line up the two from the start, and promises were born.
Placement before thinking about lighting the game
This choice of play especially serves the Manchester City leader. Because Olise (24 years old, 26 caps), who started with the Blues almost a year before him, is more established in this team. Didier Deschamps quickly entrusted him with the keys, making him the heart of his offensive animation during the World Cup. Cherki (23 years old, 15 caps) often only had parts of the match to highlight himself, which could prove frustrating, for him and the observers. The next matches will tell whether this association is intended to last in the mind of the coach, but it seems that the former OL nugget has a golden opportunity to take root.
For this meeting in Turkey, Cherki was positioned as a right relay, to be able to project himself and find himself in the zone of Olise, who began his actions on the right side with the freedom to pursue or cross. A slightly different role than usual for the Citizen, who generally plays a notch higher. There, you must first think about being present during recovery before thinking about lighting up the game. And he came out very well, if you listen to Zidane:
“He was very good. I really liked him with the ball. With the ball, we know what he is capable of doing. He was also very good because he got closer to the line with his two other friends in the midfield. He has not lost the distance. He came back into the block well when he needed to, and recovered balls between the lines. »
Concrete example, on the disastrous revival of the Turks which would lead to the winning goal signed Mbappé (54th), he was right where he needed to serve Koné with a header and start the action. We also saw him making high-intensity runs towards his camp to participate in the war effort, without losing his lucidity, as in this love of the ball with the outside of the foot for Koundé, in the first period, who eliminated four opposing defenders.
Consistent over length?
More generally, he often tried to give rhythm to a match that lacked it with well-felt one-touch deflections. There was some waste, too, but that’s what the game wants. The former exceptional playmaker that ZZ is cannot help but be sensitive to Cherki's qualities, and he may have found a way to make room for him without depriving himself of Olise. “With the ball, the instruction is to occupy the width as much as possible, to generate spaces and then be able to make the difference,” reports Jules Koundé. And that’s when Cherki intervenes.
We will have to see over time, and against more formidable opponents than Turkey, full of good intentions but which did not go out in the first round of the World Cup for nothing. In any case, we regretted the lack of creativity in the middle enough when the Blues were playing with three in this sector not to insistently beg for a follow-up. Small stat by the way, Cherki only lost 12% of the balls he played, the lowest ratio among midfielders and attackers.
The person concerned is delighted. “How did I feel?” Very good, very good, judges the former Lyonnais. It’s a role that I love. I am at the heart of the game, I can help my partners in the best possible way. » And again, he held back because “the terrain didn’t help”. “If we play on a pitch worthy of the name, it’s not at all the same match,” he continues with the confidence we know. But to be honest with you, we were quite surprised by the quality we put in despite that. »
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However, it was not because of the pitch that he took 1,000 years to shoot and wasted a big opportunity to open the score in the first half, but we will also note that he had helped to create it by letting Olise's pass pass between his legs because he had seen Dembélé behind him. The genius and deficiencies of Cherki summed up in one action... it will be fine this time, but to really settle in Rayan, you will have to put them in.
