Jack Grealish has said that the only person he needs to impress is Man City manager Pep Guardiola after assisting team-mate Raheem Sterling for England in their 3-0 win over Ivory Coast.
Grealish started for Gareth Southgate's side and played 62 minutes before being taken off after a job well done. Grealish set up Sterling for England's second of the night, the former Aston Villa man's pass to Sterling was finished calmly into the back of the net. It was a reminder of Grealish's talents after a somewhat quiet season by his standards.
Following the £100million summer move to the Etihad Stadium, Grealish has had to adapt to a new role and has seen his goal contributions fall. Despite only two goals and two assists so far this season in the Premier League, the 26-year-old has said that he's spoken to Guardiola and that hopefully he can find the scoresheet over the next few weeks as City compete for the Premier League title, UEFA Champions League and FA Cup.
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"I've spoken to Pep Guardiola," Grealish told Sky Sports. "He's shown me every other stat in the world that you would be happy with apart from goals and assists. He's the only person I need to impress but if you're a forward you want to get goals and assists so hopefully in the business end of the season I can get them."
On England's performance, Grealish said that the red card to Serge Aurier changed the game and that he would rather have seen the Tottenham Hotspur defender stay on the pitch as it would have been a 'better' challenge for the Three Lions. Though he added that overall it was a good display from both himself and his teammates.
"I thought it was a good performance from us. We knew it would be difficult to start but the red card changed things completely. It was a different type of game to what we're used to playing. It was a good performance from the team and I'm happy with mine too.
"I wanted [Serge Aurier] to stay on because it's a friendly and you get more from playing against 11. I think it would have been more of a challenge for us. I said to the referee 'come on!' But once he's given the second yellow I don't think he was going to change his mind."
Grealish's decisive pass to Sterling saw him add another assist in an England shirt, which he pointed out that while they have not been as easy to come by in the blue of Man City, he's been successful in being a provider while representing his national side and that he's enjoying his football for England - hopefully leading to a spot in the World Cup squad at the end of the year.
"I asked Raheem Sterling if there was any chance he was passing to me before! No, I'm just happy to get goals and assists. They have been difficult to come by at Manchester City but with England I have got quite a few. I want to continue playing well because I'm really enjoying it.
"It's a brilliant time to be in my shoes. We're in so many competitions still and then at the end of the year we have the World Cup. I need to keep impressing the manager to get into that squad."
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