Last Sunday, against Newcastle, Jack Grealish remained prostrate on the bench during the victory of his teammates (4-0).
Asked by the press about this choice, Pep Guardiola preferred to evade the question after the meeting.
But the tabloids quickly discovered that the Englishman was in fact punished by his coach - like Phil Foden - after a night out in a nightclub.
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Unliked by his audience
To celebrate the 7-0 victory against Leeds, and his second goal of the season in the league, "Mister Jack" and his friend went out to a nightclub. A few days earlier, the one who is often described as the ideal son-in-law had reminded the press how “
the standards are high here [in City] on and off the pitch.
“His coach reminded him of this, excluding the two players from the group for the next meeting.
This error should not improve the relations of the Englishman with his audience.
With two goals and two assists in 13 games, Grealish is far from the expected performance.
And his audience lets him know, not hesitating to whistle him during team compositions and when he touches the ball.
This habit started at the beginning of December.
The striker had missed very easy goals against Watford (3-1) then Wolverhampton (1-0), which had tense the Etihad Stadium.
Since then, the player with the socks down has had disastrous body language, which reflects the loss of confidence in recent months.
Grealish seems to have lost confidence in the past few weeks.
MOLLY DARLINGTON / PANORAMIC
Difficulty adapting
Landed in Manchester this summer, Grealish has not had a successful first few months.
“I found it much more difficult than I thought to adapt to a manager and different teammates,” he
conceded in an interview with
Skysports.
Arrived from Aston Villa, where he was the captain and undisputed leader, he knows he still has to get used to the game not revolving around him.
"
At first I thought I would have more balls to play, more assists and goals, but it doesn't work like that at all."
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The one who was very free on the front of the attack of the “
Villains
” must also be more rigorous tactically.
As he went where the game called him in Birmingham, Grealish now has to stick to the left or even a fake number nine in Manchester.
He is then much less often at the helm and, de facto, less decisive.
The most expensive transfer in Premier League history
Beyond its positioning, its individual performance also questions.
If he still causes a lot of faults (5th in this statistical category), he appears less sharp in his actions.
The fault may be this lost Euro final, badly digested by many English players, but also the pressure of his transfer.
Bought for £ 100million, the biggest sum to ever spend in the Premier League, the striker admitted to having some pressure on that reputation.
He even explained that he felt compelled to perform well in order "to be
able to repay the club by scoring goals and winning titles
".
A far cry from the pressure he knew at Aston Villa, when his team struggled to save themselves as early in the season as possible.
Guardiola trusts him
However, Pep Guardiola continues to trust his jewel.
With 12 starts out of 16 possible, the Spaniard believes in his player.
"
I think he's playing a lot better than he thinks he is," he explained.
He will get there, it will be easy for someone of his quality.
He just has to stay himself.
"
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The technician is based on his experience, since he also pointed out that each player who arrived at City had a long period of adaptation: “all
the players who come here, during their first season, they always have a hard time
".
Raheem Sterling is the perfect example.
While he's been a staple for several years, he had only scored 6 times in 31 games in 2015, his first year at the club.
Grealish will still have to do better to win the hearts of his supporters and justify the price his leaders have paid for it.
With 2 goals and two assists in 13 Premier League games, he was the first to realize this and assured him that he had "
so much more to give
".
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