Established by Fabio Grosso for Clermont’s visit to Groupama Stadium on Sunday evening, Rayan Cherki, far too discreet, was replaced at half-time. OL’s Italian coach spoke about the case of the young dribbler after the match.
After his enchanted interlude with the France Espoirs team, with an exceptional match against Cyprus (a double and two assists), on Tuesday, Rayan Cherki disappointed again with OL. Lined up from the start for the arrival of Clermont Foot, the 20-year-old attacking midfielder, installed in 10, was invisible. Stuck in the Auvergne block, he only attempted one dribble (and did not pass his opponent). He was taken out at half-time by Fabio Grosso and the Gones lost again (1-2), to sink to last place in the standings.
The Italian coach spoke at length about Cherki after the match, speaking to Prime Video: “ He’s a young player, I try to tell him every time, I keep doing it and he deserves me to do it. He has incredible talent, but talent is useless if he doesn’t demand more of himself. He can do much, much more. I know he knows, because he understands football very well. He has enormous qualities, but it’s no use if you don’t put other qualities on the pitch. As they say: talent without effort is just talent. But talent, with effort, becomes magnificent and he can become a magnificent player. He’s not yet, he’s 20 years old. He has incredible qualities but others he needs to improve “.
A prodigy from the Rhone training center, Cherki began his fourth season as a regular player in the first team, but failed to establish himself as one of the stars of his team. In nine matches this season, he has scored no goals and given no assists. Since his arrival last month, Grosso has relegated him to the bench twice. He could leave him on the sidelines next week against OM…
🗣 John Textor: “We are not where we should be.”
The Lyon president remains optimistic despite the poor result of the evening. #OLCF63 pic.twitter.com/CJ8nFMNjOM
— Prime Video Sport France (@PVSportFR) October 22, 2023
