“I didn’t see that” – Pep Lijnders discusses Rayan Cherki shirt exchange incident in Liverpool FA Cup win

“I didn’t see that” – Pep Lijnders discusses Rayan Cherki shirt exchange incident in Liverpool FA Cup win Cherki tore Liverpool apart in City’s 4-0 FA Cup quarter-final win over Liverpool on Saturday France international has gone from strength to strength since joining from Lyon for £34M City assistant Pep Lijnders assesses Cherki’s shirt swap incident with Hugo Ekitike Manchester City assistant coach Pepijn Lijnders has admitted he didn’t see Rayan Cherki’s shirt exchange with Liverpool’s Hugo Ekitike in his side’s 4-0 FA Cup quarter-final win. Cherki starred for City in a stylish win over Lijnders’ former club in a third Manchester City triumph over Arne Slot and co this season as the Blues built on their recent Carabao Cup final win over Arsenal with a rout of the reigning Premier League champions. Erling Haaland grabbed the headlines with a stunning hat-trick as City put Liverpool to the sword with a devastating attacking display that has given the Blues huge momentum ahead of monumental Premier League games against Chelsea and Arsenal.

Pep Guardiola was not in the dugout at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday afternoon as he served the second of his two-game touchline ban, with the Catalan set to return to the fold against Chelsea this weekend as Manchester City progress their quest for a domestic treble. Cherki’s 6-7, Haaland’s Greggs, managerial legend watching – 10 moments you might have missed from Man City 4-0 Liverpool Cherki shirt swap with Liverpool’s Ekitike Manchester City witnessed summer signing Cherki produce one of his finest creative displays against a meagre Liverpool side at the weekend as the 22-year-old played with the Reds’ defence and ran the show in as comfortable a City win as we’ve witnessed in 2026. The France international has reached 20 goal contributions in all competitions this season since joining from Lyon in 2025 and against Liverpool on Saturday, he was on fire and at his decisive best in the final third for a Manchester City side rediscovering their cutting edge in front of goal.

However, despite Cherki’s on-pitch brilliance, the playmaker’s most notable moment came on the substitutes bench after he was replaced by Phil Foden in the final stages, as he exchanged shirts with fellow Frenchman Hugo Ekitike , who was arguably Liverpool’s best player on the day and has been their best signing of the season. Cherki did not wait until the full-time whistle to don Liverpool’s red as just moments after he sat down on the bench, the midfielder was caught on camera putting on Ekitike’s jersey before he was nudged against doing so by fellow men in blue, with the Manchester City star subsequently holding his hand up as a gesture of apology for his misjudgement. What did Pep Lijnders make of Cherki’s shirt incident?

Speaking in his post-match press conference at the Etihad Stadium, Manchester City assistant coach Pep Lijnders was quizzed for his thoughts on Cherki’s shirt incident as the Blues reached the FA Cup semi-final for a record eighth consecutive season . “I didn’t see that,” Lijnders said, before adding with a laugh: “I would not understand why. ” Probed further for his two cents on Cherki as a player and his development since joining from Lyon, the Manchester City assistant added: “If you combine maverick with the willingness to win, like each day, you will become a top player.