Erling Haaland has praised Rayan Cherki after the Frenchman provided two assists for the striker in our 3-1 Premier League victory over Bournemouth.
City move second with entertaining Bournemouth win
Cherki’s clever header sent Haaland through to strike our opener, before Tyler Adams bundled in a leveller for the Cherries shortly after.
Cherki displayed his superb vision again shortly after the half-hour mark, sweeping the ball through for Haaland to stroke us back ahead, taking his overall Premier League tally to 98 goals.
The striker also became only the third player ever to score 2+ goals in four or more consecutive Premier League home appearances and has 13 top-flight goals in 10 appearances this term.
Nico O’Reilly smartly added a third on the hour mark to secure the points, and in his interview after the game, Haaland was pleased with Cherki’s contribution.
“We all know his qualities so it’s about trying to get the best out of everyone,” he said. “Today he had two amazing assists to me. Hopefully there will be many more.
“[It’s an] important win. It’s good to bounce back after losing a bad away game. It was nice. I tried to contribute for the team by doing my job and we won again. It’s good to win, that’s when everyone is happy. That’s what we try to do all the time.
“I didn’t score in the last game. I try to help the team to win, that’s my goal. Even by scoring, or helping with winning duels, it doesn’t matter. As long as we win, that’s what I want to do. I want to win games and I want to help the team become a better football team. That’s my job.
“So now we have two more important games before the international break and let’s keep focusing.”
Haaland almost grabbed a hat-trick before the half-time break but saw his dinked effort well saved, before he was substituted for the remaining eight minutes of the game.
“Yeah of course,” said Haaland when asked if he thought he could have got a hat-trick. “You need to ask Pep for this [being substituted].
“I think there are probably a few fantasy managers that were not so happy when I got subbed off!”
