A headline statistic was doing the rounds after Liverpool's victory over Manchester City that didn't flatter Jack Grealish one bit.
It said that Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson, with his defence-splitting assist for Mo Salah's winner vs City, has more assists this season than Grealish has, seemingly criticising the City number ten for his lack of goal involvements this term.
However, as Grealish sat on the bench at Anfield, he may have felt that his long-term City prospects may have increased. Not because of anything Alisson did, but more from the way the Blues struggled to balance their attack against Liverpool.
ALSO READ: Man City fury over Jurgen Klopp jibes turns Liverpool FC rivalry even uglier
With Phil Foden preferred to Grealish on the left, and Kevin De Bruyne shifted out to the right to accommodate Bernardo Silva, City looked to create an overload against Liverpool's makeshift right-back James Milner. It was a tactic that worked wonders on the last visit to Anfield, but Liverpool saw the plan coming and brought back three midfielders to the left side to crowd out the City pair.
Even with Ilkay Gundogan and Nathan Ake behind, City struggled to find space on that left flank, yet often sent their attacks that way.
Maybe the plan was to draw Liverpool in before switching the ball wide where Rodri, De Bruyne and Joao Cancelo were waiting, often in acreas of space. The one time De Bruyne did get that ball, he advanced and picked out the head of Erling Haaland, who could only direct his header into the arms of Alisson.
While City were competitive in the game, though, it made little sense for Guardiola to change things. The longer the game went on, any changes would have to have been more direct, with Grealish's role for City a slower, possession-based option.
If he had started, however, City may have declined the chance to set Foden back up against Milner, but they would have seen Grealish do what he has done so often this season and draw defenders in before freeing players in space on the opposite flank to create the overload.
That same tactic has seen Foden and De Bruyne strike up an effective partnership that may have been effective vs Liverpool in hindsight as they combine to create crossing opportunities for Erling Haaland. Instead, with Cancelo pushed back to deal with Mo Salah and Diogo Jota, De Bruyne was isolated and City couldn't send in those quality balls to Haaland.
What worked against Manchester United with Grealish teasing his right-back before letting Foden, De Bruyne and Haaland run riot, was abandoned against Liverpool. Going forward, a front three of Grealish-Haaland-Foden may be the best option in big games. So for any disappointment Grealish could have for not getting on the pitch at Anfield, his big game credentials could have been strengthened by City's struggles without him.
He'll rack those assists up before long to make those Alisson comparisons null and void, yet his real value to City remains in the build-up phase. And that important role, which often goes unnoticed, was quietly missed on Sunday.
READ MORE:
