Pep Guardiola pointed to Jack Grealish’s composure as the reason why he had no qualms about deploying the attacker as a holding midfielder in last night’s 3-0 victory over Nottingham Forest.
Grealish’s display earned widespread praise as he and Ilkay Gundogan combined to give City a stable base from which they ended their seven-game winless run. Goals from Bernardo Silva, Kevin de Bruyne and Jeremy Doku had City three-up in an hour and seemingly back on track.
Speaking after the game Guardiola pointed to the influence of Grealish, having previously been criticised for hanging the former Aston Villa player and Notts County loanee out on the left wing ‘like a mannequin’.
“[He was] Really good. He played in the middle and was involved in many things.” the Spaniard said. “Hopefully in the next games, if I decide to play him in that position, he can be involved in the final third and decisive in passes. goals and assists. He gave us what we needed.
“Our football is always built from the midfield. The quality that makes our tempo and the way we have to play. We controlled the game, and Jack gave us that pace. When to accelerate and control, he did it really good. I’m so happy for him.
“I had no doubts about putting him in that position. I know his quality. He has attributes to play holding midfield, keep the ball, break the lines and composure. With the problems that we have in the middle with two holding midfielders injured, Gundo has played an important role for us. Everyone was good.”
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