Jack Grealish had made an admission on his personal form that should leave Manchester City’s upcoming opponents quaking in their boots.
With Liverpool slipping to a shock defeat at Nottingham Forest, Manchester City are now the only team in the Premier League to have won all their games and are sitting pretty at the top of the table.
It was far from easy against Brentford on Saturday, though, with the visiting Bees taking the lead after just 22 seconds when Yoane Wissa nodded home John Stones’ slashed clearance.
Brentford were all over City and could have gone 3-0 ahead but the inevitable Erling Haaland ensured normality resumed when he found the bottom corner with a shot on the turn.
Haaland made it a remarkable nine goals in the first four games, a new Premier League record, before the break when he latched onto Ederson’s long ball, shrugged past Ethan Pinnock and lobbed the goalkeeper.
It was a brilliant goal, with Ederson’s assist his fourth in the Premier League and seeing him overtake Manchester United’s Antony in the rankings.
City controlled the second half for the most part and were unfortunate not to extend their lead, with Jack Grealish involved in several attacks.
The No.10 delightfully flicked Josko Gvardiol in on goal, created a chance that saw Haaland hit the post and brought out a sprawling save from Mark Flekken.
After a hard-working start, Grealish’s display evolved into a fine attacking performance and he revealed afterwards he feels he’s getting back to his best.
Jack Grealish says he’s getting his ‘sharpness’ back
Speaking after the game, via the BBC, Grealish said: “I’ve started three or four games in a row now for club and country, I’m starting to feel like I am getting that sharpness back.”
If Grealish is feeling confident again and getting back to his best, then that should be deeply concerning for City’s upcoming opponents. When he was last at his peak, he helped City win a treble.
While not a blow-away great performance, with Grealish getting 7/10 in MCN’s player ratings, it’s clear he’s getting much more involved in the exciting play and benefitting from regular starts.
Grealish has already started two league games in a row, something he did on just three occasions last term.
The 29-year-old fell out of favour but looks to be playing his way back in with two strong performances in succession.
Jack Grealish’s former Tim Sherwood left unconvinced
Tim Sherwood, who managed Grealish 20 times during his stint at Aston Villa, wasn’t overly enamoured by his former player’s display, though.
The Sky Sports pundit called into question whether Grealish could truly shine again when playing on the left.
He said on Soccer Saturday at 5:44 pm: “He did okay, Jack.
“I mean, he is back on the left-hand side, a restricted position for him because he enjoyed a couple of games under Lee Carsley for England, letting him float wherever he wants to play, that is where he prefers.
“But he also prefers picking up trophies every single year, playing for Man City, so you are not going to get a free role playing for Man City.
“There are other players who can take part. But he does enough in his position. He balances out on the left-hand side.”
While Grealish was much more involved than Sherwood suggests, especially in the final 15 minutes of the match, he does have a point about his positioning.
Grealish was given the central role in England’s game against Ireland and got on the scoresheet. He also played a lot through the middle in his last City game against West Ham, too.
Grealish and De Bruyne repeatedly swapped positions at the London Stadium and Grealish looked rejuvenated in a creative midfield role, constantly involved in all of City’s attacks.
De Bruyne was still lethal with his deliveries from the flank, too, so it’s a shame the tactic wasn’t repeated against Brentford but hopefully, it will be used again soon.
