Pep Guardiola explains why Rayan Cherki was benched for Semenyo, O’Reilly

Manchester City head coach, Pep Guardiola has said that French footballer Rayan Cherki does not provide his team with stability, hence his decision to use other players more often.

He explained that when he starts Erling Haaland and Jeremy Doku alongside the French midfielder, the team lacks balance, which affects their performance and gives opponents an advantage.

The Spanish manager noted that Cherki’s recent absence from the starting lineup is not due to dislike but rather an effort to explore tactical options.

a href="https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/SportsArchive/Analysis-of-Semenyo-s-performance-against-Real-Madrid-2025412">Analysis of Semenyo’s performance against Real Madrid

“We learned at the beginning, playing with Erling [Haaland], Jeremy [Doku], and Cherki, that we were incredibly unbalanced. We didn’t have the stability that teams in the Premier League must have. That’s why I tried to adjust.

“This is a team that’s growing; I think from the beginning we’ve grown a lot. But it’s still unfinished business. I will not be the one to say that I don’t love playing with Rayan [Cherki]. Especially when he comes from the bench, his impact is always unbelievable,” he told the media.

Guardiola further disclosed that the team is more balanced when Antoine Semenyo and Nico O’Reilly play on the wings, with the Ghanaian attacker’s pace complementing the team’s performance.

“Sometimes he doesn’t have the speed, but the team was stable when Antoine Semenyo and Nico O’Reilly played in the winger positions and then came inside, arriving in the box, they were really, really good. I’m still finding the best way to achieve consistent stability as a team,” he added.

Since Semenyo’s arrival from Bournemouth, he has featured prominently in Manchester City’s lineups and contributed significantly with goals to improve the team’s performance, while Cherki has been dropped to the bench.

Read the post below:

Pep Guardiola: “We learned at the beginning playing with Erling [Haaland], Jeremy [Doku], with Cherki that we are incredibly unbalanced. We didn’t have the stability that the teams in the Premier League have to have.

That’s why I tried to handle for that. That’s why it’s a team… pic.twitter.com/sVcIHwY6jd

— City Report (@cityreport_) March 14, 2026