Enzo Maresca is happy to see Rayan Cherki playing with a smile on his face at Manchester City, but he has encouraged the playmaker to not ‘complicate’ situations when the simple options are available.

Cherki has established himself as one of City’s chief creators since arriving from Lyon for just £34m in the summer of 2025 and is known for his flair, close-control dribbling and silky skills.

The 23-year-old’s talent was on full display on Wednesday night as he produced a standout performance, including a well-taken goal, in Man City’s comfortable 5-1 home win over AEK Athens in the Champions League.

Cherki was keen to show off his skills from the off and delivered a display littered with step-overs, back-heels and fancy flicks that quickly went viral on social media.

Rayan Cherki is always putting on a show ?? ? Stream now on TNT Sports & HBO Max https://t.co/fRCRh6tXYB https://t.co/uM1CusdS9a

— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) October 20, 2026

From a statistical standpoint, Cherki’s high-risk, high-reward approach resulted in him registered the most touches (108) and the most shots (five) of any player on the pitch, but his constant showboating also meant he set a record for the current Champions League season for being dispossessed eight times in a single match.

This is not the first time we have seen Cherki showboating, who memorably performed kick-ups during the second half of Man City's EFL Cup final triumph over Arsenal at Wembley in March, while he also assisted a goal for Phil Foden with a rabona cross during a Premier League win against Sunderland in December 2025.

Speaking at a press conference on Thursday ahead of Man City’s Premier League trip to Aston Villa on Saturday, Maresca was asked to share his thoughts on Cherki performing tricks during games.

Maresca likes “simple things” – but Cherki can provide the magic  

He briefly paused before telling reporters: "Err... I like players when they're happy, for sure, 100%, but I also like simple things. At the end, I think the most difficult thing in football is to do the easy things, don't complicate.

"But sometimes you have players that are so, so good like Rayan, that they need to do that. So I'm very happy when he's doing that, also because I know that he's happy, and if you're able to do that and to allow the team to create chances, it's top, it's even better.

"This is something he needs to keep: He loves the ball, wants the ball. This is something I'm not going to remove from his skills, absolutely, but we need to find the right balance when we're able to contact with him in the right position, we create chances.

“When he's in the right position inside the box, he's creating chances for himself or scoring."

Maresca: “Cherki is always a weapon for us”

"He is class" ?‍? Rayan Cherki produces a piece of art to make it three for Man City ?‍? ? Stream now on TNT Sports & HBO Max https://t.co/fRCRh6tXYB https://t.co/fSEdEl6LRl

— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) October 20, 2026

Maresca has heaped praise on Cherki and views him as an important assets for his City team, adding: “Rayan, at this moment, is one of the best players in Europe!

“When he's in the right position, that means when we're able to find him between the lines, it's always dangerous. And when he's inside the box with the quality he has... He's one of the best players in Europe.

"Sometimes because he loves the ball and loves to move a lot, most of the time he's out of position. But when he's in the right position, he's always a weapon for us.

"We are lucky that he is with us, and hopefully he can score more goals and more assists for us".

Cherki has contributed to eight goals (six goals, two assists) in 11 appearances for Man City across all competitions this season and is in contention to start again in this weekend’s clash with Villa.

Meanwhile, Maresca has delivered a fresh update on the fitness of four Man City players including top scorer Erling Haaland, who was not involved in the win over AEK Athens.