Rayan Cherki celebrated his 100th Olympique Lyonnais appearance - at the tender age of 19 - with a goal as les Gones beat AS Monaco 3-1 at the Groupama Stadium on Friday.
Cherki played a starring role as OL kept their European hopes alive with the three points, his Marseille roulette and shot inside the hour allowing Maxence Caqueret to make it 2-1 before a fine effort steered in off the post by Cherki completed the scoring late on.
Cherki, who is already in his third season in OL's first-team squad, has never been more trusted than he is now by head coach Laurent Blanc. He reflected on his would-be brace after the game.
"You'll have to ask my friend Max if he took it off me, even if it's true that I'd have liked to put it in the back of the net," he said of the first chance before reflecting on the second. "In the box, I'm a different Rayan. I'm dribbling, going fast. Madness has taken over. I don't know if I should go right, left or centre. It's instinctive…"
Alexandre Lacazette had scored Lyon's first to cancel out Wissam Ben Yedder's early penalty, and Cherki reserved special praise for the cub captain.
"For me, he's among the two best players in Ligue 1 [alongside Kylian Mbappé?]. He brings serenity, even if I'm already calm already. He runs hard, communicates well, and scores. He's an exemplary player and, moreover, my friend."
"Alexandre Lacazette exudes a very high level and fulfils his role as team leader," reflected Blanc. "It's not just him. On the second goal, Rayan Cherki should have scored after his roulette but I'm happy that Maxence Caqueret scored the goal anyway.
"Other players were in tune, too. Everyone had the same spirit against a great Monaco team. The players are happy with the way they won. I hope this is a sign of things to come."
>> MATCH REPORT: Lyon keep European hopes alive with Monaco win
