Pep Guardiola downplayed the flair of Rayan Cherki’s rabona assist after Manchester City’s 3-0 victory over Sunderland and urged the young midfielder to embrace simpler playmaking principles.

The rabona set-up helped the Cityzens to a win that left the 11-time English champions two points behind league-leaders Arsenal, who were stunned in stoppage time by Aston Villa. “I never saw Messi play a cross like he has done,” the Spanish boss said. “Messi is the best player to play the game but I never saw these kind of crosses.

“Crosses are fine, right or left or which part of your feet, it doesn’t matter. If it is effective, it is fine, but I like the simplicity because I learned from Messi that I never make a mistake with the simple things.

“The simple things he does perfectly, then he dribbles past four or five players. I want players to do the simple things well and after that you have special talent and he can do whatever he wants.

“But if he doesn’t work now, it will be a problem. He will be in trouble,” Guardiola finished

Unlike his manager, Cherki left the Etihad smiling. The 22-year-old produced two assists, created the most chances (six) and completed the most dribbles (five) in the match. “I worked for that [assist],” Cherki told BBC after the match. “I know my quality, which is my technique, when I play with Phil, Erling [Haaland], Omar [Marmoush], it’s very important to give the good balls for them.”

The France international, who left Lyon to join Man City this summer in a deal worth an initial £30.45 million ($40.6 million), later posted on social media: “Great day at work,” Cherki shared on X. “Thank you for the support.”

The summer signing leads the Premier League in assists this season with five despite only playing 350 minutes. His teammate Erling Haaland has found the back of the net 15 times in the English top flight in 2025/26.

The Premier League shortlists for November have been published, highlighting individual runs that shaped the month.

Newcastle United winger Harvey Barnes closed November with three goals, two of which arrived in the win over Manchester City. Everton midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall delivered a memorable strike against Manchester United, also scoring against Newcastle and providing an assist against Fulham. Manchester City winger Jérémy Doku produced one of the season’s most eye-catching individual displays as he demolished Liverpool and helped Pep Guardiola’s side remain competitive in the title race.

Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes finished November with four assists, creating goals against Nottingham Forest, Tottenham Hotspur and Crystal Palace. Morgan Gibbs-White enjoyed a three-game scoring streak for Nottingham Forest, firing home against Man Utd, Leeds United and in the away victory at Liverpool.

Chelsea defender Reece James featured in all four of the Blues’ Premier League matches in November. His assist in the 1–1 draw with Arsenal capped off a truly stunning individual showing in a month which yielded a total of three clean sheets. Arsenal’s Declan Rice added attacking impetus with a goal against Burnley and an assist in the north London derby win over Tottenham Hotspur.

Brentford striker Igor Thiago continued his hot form, adding five goals across November with strikes against Newcastle, Brighton & Hove Albion and Burnley among them.

Managers with strong cases included Mikel Arteta after Arsenal’s unbeaten month, which produced wins over Burnley and Tottenham as well as draws with Sunderland and Chelsea. Unai Emery’s Aston Villa won three of four and emerged as outside contenders in the title race. Pep Guardiola’s Man City scored a league-high 10 goals in November, including the victory over Liverpool. Fabian Hürzeler’s Brighton & Hove Albion conceded once in four games, producing wins over Leeds, Brentford and Nottingham Forest. Chelsea went unbeaten under Enzo Maresca with three wins and a draw. Marco Silva’s Fulham recorded three wins over Wolves, Sunderland and Tottenham.

Recent monthly winners: Jack Grealish (Everton, August), Erling Haaland (Man City, September), Bryan Mbeumo (Man Utd, October). Recent manager winners: Arne Slot (Liverpool, August), Oliver Glasner (Crystal Palace, September), Ruben Amorim (Man Utd, October).

Erling Haaland reached the 100-goal mark in Premier League play during Manchester City’s match with Fulham on Tuesday, becoming the quickest player in league history to hit the century. The 25-year-old achieved the milestone in just 111 Premier League appearances, surpassing the previous benchmark set by Alan Shearer, who reached 100 in 124 games.

Haaland’s pace to 100 leaves several of the competition’s top scorers well behind. He arrived at the milestone far sooner than Harry Kane (147), Sergio Agüero (147) and Thierry Henry (160). Mohamed Salah reached 100 in 162 appearances. The club forward’s rise has been relentless this season and he will now press on with ambitions of breaking his own single-season scoring record.

Haaland, who has already been compared to Lionel Messi by his manager this term, scored 36 times during the 2022–23 campaign en route to a treble, surpassing Salah’s previous record of 32 goals in a 38-match season. His 100th Premier League strike was his 15th in the competition this season, keeping well clear of Brentford’s Igor Thiago and Brighton & Hove Albion’s Danny Welbeck in the scoring charts so far this year.

The milestone underlines how quickly Haaland has established himself among the Premier League’s most prolific forwards. A review of the fastest players to 100 Premier League goals highlights the scale of the achievement: Erling Haaland (111), Alan Shearer (124), Harry Kane (147), Sergio Agüero (147), Thierry Henry (160), Mohamed Salah (162), Ian Wright (173), Robbie Fowler (175), Les Ferdinand (178) and Michael Owen (185).

That list places Haaland at the top by a clear margin and frames a season in which he has already rewritten single-season records and set a new standard for goalscoring efficiency in the Premier League.