Jack Grealish paid a special tribute to his brother after scoring his first goal in nearly 16 months to help Manchester City to victory over Leicester City. The playmaker had a starring role in the 2-0 victory, scoring inside the opening two minutes and looking the best player on the pitch, before revealing what a difficult day it had been.
It was exactly 25 years since his younger brother Keelan died, with the anniversary always tough for the family. Grealish pointed to the skies after scoring and wrote on social media after the game: "With me always especially this day. That was for you Keelan."
Speaking after the match, Grealish said: "This day is hard on the family but I was happy to score. My mum and dad were here. This day is always difficult in the family, so to score and to win was brilliant."
Pep Guardiola said he had been unaware of Grealish's personal situation but praised the No.10 for his character. "Jack is an incredible human being. He's incredibly generous," he said.
"Something wrong happened for himself. I didn't know, I can't imagine how tough it can be for him and his mum and dad and sister and all the family. It's good that they remember him every single day but scoring a goal and making a good game."
On the pitch, Grealish was the highlight of a routine win over a Leicester side that look almost certain to be relegated.
He reprised the central role that he impressed in against Nottingham Forest earlier in the season, and with Phil Foden and Kevin De Bruyne on the bench he orchestrated attacks.
It is another season where the £100m signing is yet to turn the promising flickers into any thing concrete, although he again showed his potential in the middle ahead of an important run of fixtures for City.
"He scored, he had another chance. He likes to play in the middle, he used to play free but he is comfortable playing in the side," said Guardiola.
"We had the feeling that between the lines he always has an ability to control the ball, have an extra pass. He was not rewarded with an incredible penalty at the beginning of the second half but I'm happy for him.
"I know it's not easy when you don't play regularly. It's not easy for the strikers how Leicester defended.
"We expected them to be a little bit more aggressive. It's not easy for people playing in the middle when they defend with a low block.
"We just missed a third goal but the rest was good. The experiences we have had this season, two goals up and we have conceded."
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