Jack Grealish admits it’s been ‘much more difficult’ than he thought to adapt at Man City
‘It was so much more difficult than I thought’: Jack Grealish opens up on his struggles to adapt after £100m City move – but insists ‘it’s a pleasure to work for Pep’ after setting up winner at Chelsea
Jack Grealish has candidly opened up about his struggles to adapt to life at Manchester City after setting up their winner against Chelsea.
The winger came off the bench to grab an assist for Riyad Mahrez in a 1-0 victory at Stamford Bridge, moving them five points behind league leaders Arsenal.
Grealish joined City in the summer of 2021 for a British record £100million fee, and has admitted he didn’t think it would be as difficult to adjust to life at the club after leaving his boyhood club Aston Villa.
Jack Grealish has candidly spoken out about his struggles adapting to life at Manchester City
It came after he he made an immediate impact off the bench during the win over Chelsea
Within minutes of coming on, his cross was tucked home by fellow substitute Riyad Mahrez
After the match he spoke openly about his struggles and the differences to his time at Aston Villa, in an interview with Sky Sports pundits Jamie Carragher, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Karen Carney.
When asked what life is like at the club, he told Sky Sports: ‘I’ve said it before, but it’s so much different to what I was used to at Aston Villa. Playing for Dean Smith, he’d say to me “go and find where you think the weak link is in the defence. If you want to go in the right, in the middle, if you want to hug the touch-line”.
‘Just certain stuff… at Villa, I’d always have an overlapping full-back. Stuff like that.
Grealish spoke openly with Sky Sports pundits Jamie Carragher, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Karen Carney, along with presenter David Jones
‘Coming to City, I’d been at Villa my whole life and I’ve never had to change. I didn’t realise how hard it is to adapt to another team and another manager. When I came here, it was so much more difficult than I thought.
‘In my head I was thinking, “Going to the team that’s sitting top of the league, I’m going to get so many goals this season”. And obviously it isn’t the case.
‘It’s so much more difficult. A lot of teams do tend to sit in against us, which obviously wasn’t the case at Villa.’
Grealish has opened up on the differences between playing at Aston Villa and Man City
Grealish has found it more tough than expected to adjust at Man City though he is enjoying life at the club under Pep Guardiola
When asked about his role against Chelsea coming on as a substitute, he added: ‘You sit there on the bench, observing the game and seeing what Phil’s (Foden) doing in the position that I’d be in, if I do come on.
‘But I always want to start – every player does. I’ve been here 18 months and I’m enjoying it honestly. It’s a great group of lads and it’s a pleasure to work under Pep.’
Grealish and Mahrez were both brought on at the hour mark against Chelsea and combined to devastating effect.
The England international’s cross from the left wing was inch-perfect for Mahrez who slid in at the far post to score the only goal of the game and give them the three points.
When asked about his relationship with Mahrez, Grealish responded: ‘I’m so close with Riyad and we were warming up together and we were saying, “I’d love to come on here”, because the game was open.
‘We’ve had games against Brentford and Everton this season where they’ve had a back-five and they’ve sat in against us.
‘Today, it just seemed so much more open and we were saying that we were desperate to come on.
Grealish played a perfect cross for fellow substitute Riyad Mahrez to tuck the ball home
Grealish has provided three assists in as many league games since the World Cup break
‘The manager told Riyad to go and warm up – he didn’t actually tell me to warm up.
‘I thought, I’m going to warm up here even if I ain’t coming on. Next thing I know, Riyad was like “Jack! Come on, we’re going on”. I was like “Buzzing, see ya later”.
Guardiola praised Grealish’s body language after his game-changing contribution at Stamford Bridge.
He said: ‘Grealish’s body language is exceptional if he plays or doesn’t play. These type of guys always play good. He was really good defensively too.’
One criticism about the former Villa captain has been his lack of goals and assists for the reigning Premier League champions.
This season he has netted just once, but he has been in good form since the World Cup break providing three assists in as many league games.
In total, he has scored seven goals in 58 appearances across all competitions since joining Man City – which compares to 32 in 213 for Aston Villa, which includes the West Midland side’s spell in the Championship.
