Jack Grealish made his return from injury in Manchester City’s comfortable win over Sevilla on Tuesday night and his performance was singled out for praise by Pep Guardiola.
City eased to a 4-0 victory in the south of Spain as Erling Haaland continued his magnificent form in front of goal with another two strikes. Phil Foden and Ruben Dias also got on the score sheet as Guardiola’s side made a commanding start to their Champions League campaign.
The match also saw a return to the side for Grealish, who had not played since City's 4-0 Premier League win over Bournemouth on August 13 due to a minor injury. The England international is under a little bit of pressure following a slightly underwhelming debut campaign after his £100million transfer from Aston Villa last summer in which he returned just six goals and four assists in 39 appearances in all competitions.
Grealish managed 62 minutes in Spain before being replaced, and although he did not contribute to the scoreline, Guardiola was delighted with his display. "Jack arrived incredible in the pre-season," Guardiola said post-match. "In the first game against West Ham unfortunately he had a little injury. It's important for him to have again this 53, 60 minutes.
"The pitch was uncomfortable for the players. He was so aggressive in the first half, more than aggressive than Phil [Foden] in terms of goal and making the movements in there. Sometimes [he] missed the last pass but it's not easy there. We need him a lot this season. Jack will be so important. He played a really good game."
The real star of the show on Tuesday night was, once again, Haaland. He tapped in Kevin De Bruyne’s cross before gobbling up a rebound from Foden’s saved effort to make it 12 goals in just seven games for City since his £51m summer move from Borussia Dortmund.
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“The numbers speak for themselves,” said Guardiola. “It's not just the two goals, it's the way he's always there. It's always the feeling that he could score more goals. His numbers, all of his career, even for previous teams, are quite similar. He has an incredible sense of goal.
"I love this routine and it's been a routine in every single press conference after games, talking about him and his goals. We have incredible numbers in terms of goals, but we need to continue. We have another battle against Tottenham on Saturday and hopefully we can continue."
There was also some praise for Manuel Akanji, who made his debut following a deadline day £15m move from Borussia Dortmund. "We are delighted, just training one day and a half with us," Guardiola said. "He showed in Dortmund his experience in Europe. A really, really good central defender that City bought to us.
"He played really well, his focus, attention. He has a quality quite similar to Aymer [Aymeric Laporte], he can break the lines with a pass. He read the spaces really well. I am very pleased for him."
