Jack Grealish didn’t have a brilliant debut for Manchester City against Tottenham Hotspur this evening.
Spurs secured a big 1-0 win over Pep Guardiola’s side to kick off the Premier League campaign in the best way possible.
Grealish had a very decent first half but faded quite a lot after the break, with the imperious Japhet Tanganga keeping him on a very short leash in the second 45 minutes.
As ever, the £100 million signing from Aston Villa won a lot of fouls off Tottenham players – and one of them upset Pep Guardiola.
In the first half, the 25-year-old was fouled by Davinson Sanchez close to the touchline, with the Colombian and Guardiola having a brief exchange of words which resulted in a hug.
Graeme Le Saux told NBC Sport: “Pep wasn’t happy about that. There was a little stamp. Did you see? Sanchez stamped the ground next to Grealish when he fouled him. Pep’s initial reaction was a bit more animated.”
How was the game won?
Son’s left-footed strike in the second half was enough for Tottenham on a day when Guardiola’s side didn’t create all that much.
Part of this was creativity issues without Kevin de Bruyne, who was introduced for the final quarter.
But most of City’s problem was the fact that Spurs defended brilliantly throughout the 90 minutes, with Tanganga, Sanchez, Eric Dier and Sergio Reguilon producing something of a masterclass – particularly after the break.
There’s no doubt that Grealish is a class act and luckily for him, he won’t be coming up against Tanganga every week.
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