Rayan Ait-Nouri Aims for More Goals in City Colours

Rayan Ait-Nouri has tasted his first goal in City colours. Now he wants more.

The 25-year-old, speaking after opening his account under new head coach Enzo Maresca, made it clear this is no one-off moment but the start of a deliberate shift in his game.

“I would like to,” he said when asked if he aims to score on a regular basis. “It was my first goal for City, and it's a part of the game I really enjoy. I have always tried to play in an attacking way, but I don't score all the time.

“It's a real sensation for me, and I want to learn every day, work more and more to add as much to my game as I can.”

Maresca’s tweak, Ait-Nouri’s reward

Maresca’s tactical blueprint has already begun to reshape Ait-Nouri’s role. No longer pinned to the touchline, he operated higher up the pitch, tucked in behind striker Mubama and combining with Phil Foden and Antoine Semenyo.

The change paid off. City’s win over the K-League XI did more than put a first positive result on the board for Maresca; it underlined how a more advanced Ait-Nouri can trouble defences and arrive in scoring positions rather than simply create them.

This is the evolution he is chasing: from adventurous defender to genuine attacking threat.

A different test on the horizon

City’s tour now builds towards a far sterner examination. Atletico Madrid await on Sunday, a step up in intensity and quality that Ait-Nouri openly relishes.

“It will be a different game than the last two games,” he said. “We really enjoy playing this kind of game against one of the better teams in Europe; it will help us really prepare for next season.

“We know about Atletico's level, and it will be good to play them before we face Arsenal next week.”

One goal has already shifted the conversation around his role. Atletico, then Arsenal, will show whether this is just a promising pre-season tweak or the start of Ait-Nouri’s transformation into a regular source of goals in Maresca’s new City.