Rayan Cherki revealed he had Erling Haaland’s blessing to mimic the Norwegian’s iconic lotus celebration after scoring the late winner in Manchester City’s victory at Nottingham Forest.
The Frenchman struck in the 83rd minute to secure a sixth straight Premier League win for City, keeping the pressure on Arsenal in the title race following a hard-fought contest.
It was Cherki’s first league goal since scoring on the opening day at Wolves, but unlike that earlier strike, this effort proved decisive as it earned all three points at the City Ground.
Cherki has five goals in all competitions this season and leads the Premier League for assists. He set up City’s opener early in the second half by laying on a pass for Tijjani Reijnders, before Omari Hutchinson cancelled it out.
The 21-year-old joined City from Lyon for £34m in June and saw his start disrupted by a seven-week injury layoff. He has since become one of Pep Guardiola’s most influential players, contributing to seven goals in his last eight appearances.
Speaking to TNT Sports, Cherki said:
“In the week I spoke to Erling and he said: ‘When you score you do this celebration’ so I did and I am so happy.”
He added:
“When the games come we need just one thing: to win… the championship is so long and so hard, so today is a big win.”
Guardiola praised his players’ mentality after being tested by Forest and highlighted the difficulty of the fixture.
“That’s a really, really, really big three points,” he said.
The City manager also pointed to the challenge of the title race, insisting consistency will be crucial as the season progresses.
“The Premier League is tougher, tougher, tougher, but it is important to be there,” Guardiola added.
City now have five days’ rest before a demanding run of fixtures, starting away at Sunderland on January 1, followed by home games against Chelsea and Brighton.