Guardiola gives verdict on Grealish debut for Man City
Carlo Garganese
- 8 Aug 2021 15:53 BST
- 3 min read
While his first Manchester City appearance ended in defeat, Pep Guardiola gave new signing Jack Grealish a positive review.
England international Grealish joined City in a huge £100 million (€118m) transfer from Aston Villa on Thursday.
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Just two days later, he came on to play the final 25 minutes of the Community Shield as Man City took on Leicester at Wembley.
The occasion ended in disappointment for Guardiola, as the Premier League champions were beaten 1-0 by the FA Cup winners as the domestic season in England began.
Kelechi Iheanacho won and converted a penalty against his former club one minute from time.
Seniorman Kelechi. pic.twitter.com/Cvq4WzNYtM
— Leicester City (@LCFC) August 8, 2021
But asked about the performance from Grealish, Guardiola was happy with what he had seen.
"Jack was really good,” Guardiola said.
“He was aggressive and was going against full-backs.
“Every time he had the ball he had three players [coming to him].
"We will find the tempo, he will know his mates, we will know him and, step by step, we will find our best.
"I know he is a lovely guy so he will adapt quickly.
"He didn't come to play 25 minutes, he came to play five or six years, that's why we will be incredibly patient like we will be for all new players every time they come."
A disappointing result today but an absolute honour to make my debut for this club and thank you to the fans for the lovely reception! Can’t wait for next weekend! 🙌🏻⚽️ pic.twitter.com/JVe4SBaAWU
— Jack Grealish (@JackGrealish) August 7, 2021
Man City to begin title defence
After the Wembley loss, Man City will now turn their attention to the defence of their Premier League title.
Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United are all expected to contend in 2021/22, with Harry Kane a transfer target for City despite the big spending they have already completed to land Grealish.
City start their campaign with a tough test away to Kane and Spurs next Sunday and Guardiola suggested the short turnaround from Euro 2020 will be challenging.
He said: “Mentally, yeah, of course I'm ready, but how can we be ready when some of the players have three or four training sessions?"
"We have to adapt, adapt and adapt. We did last season when we started a little bit flat.
“After a while we were there and started to win.
"After what I saw [against Leicester] I am incredibly confident that many good things are going to happen this season.
"I saw many incredibly good things. I don’t feel we played badly. I said to all the guys how proud I am.
"But in this business, you must win. And when you don't, congratulate the opponent.”
