Rayan Cherki recreated teammate Erling Haaland's goal celebrations after curling an exquisite shot into the top corner in Manchester City's 2-0 win over Brentford in the English League Cup quarterfinals on Wednesday.
The France playmaker pulled out some robot moves and then sat down cross-legged in a yoga pose after giving a much-changed City team a 32nd-minute lead.
With his tricks, skills and wonderful technique, Cherki is already proving a fans' favorite in his first season in Manchester after moving from Lyon. In a win over Sunderland this month, he produced a ''rabona'' cross that was headed in by Phil Foden but left City manager Pep Guardiola urging Cherki to play with ''simplicity'' like Lionel Messi.
The goal against Brentford was one Messi would have been proud of. Collecting a headed clearance at the edge of the box, Cherki deceived an opponent by switching the ball to his right foot and then whipped a shot into the top corner.
Savinho added a second goal for City in the 67th minute with a shot that was aided by a huge deflection that looped over Brentford goalkeeper Hákon Valdimarsson.
Haaland was named as a substitute for the game, didn't come on, and was seen shaking the hand of Cherki when the midfielder was replaced in the second half.
City advanced to the last four of the League Cup for the first time since 2021, the year it won the competition for the fourth straight season and the eighth time overall.
Its opponent in the semifinals will be defending champion Newcastle, which scored a stoppage-time goal to beat Fulham 2-1 on Tuesday.
