Jack Grealish admits transfer to Manchester Metropolis has been 'a lot harder' than anticipated

Muricas News  — 

Jack Grealish says shifting to Manchester Metropolis has been “a lot harder” than he anticipated after he had a hand within the group’s essential 1-0 win towards Chelsea.

Grealish broke the British switch file when he joined Metropolis from Aston Villa for a reported payment of £100 million ($138 million) in 2021.

He has struggled with type since then – scoring 4 targets and registering six assists in Premier League video games – however there was no questioning the England worldwide’s impression on Thursday.

With half-hour remaining at Stamford Bridge, Grealish got here off the bench and produced an outstanding cross to seek out Riyad Mahrez, who tapped in from shut vary for the successful aim.

“I’d been at Villa my complete life and I’d by no means needed to change, I’d all the time been used to that,” Grealish instructed Sky Sports activities as he mirrored on the previous 18 months with Man Metropolis.

“I didn’t notice how onerous it's to adapt to a different group and one other supervisor. Once I got here right here, I’ll be trustworthy with you, it was a lot harder that I assumed.

“In my head I used to be pondering: I’m coming to a group that’s sitting prime of the league, I’m going to get so many aim and assists. Clearly it isn’t the case, it’s a lot harder.”

The win, which moved Man Metropolis 5 factors behind Premier League chief Arsenal, demonstrated the depth of supervisor Pep Guardiola’s squad.

Even when Erling Haaland – the group’s star striker who didn’t contact the ball for the primary 20 minutes – had a comparatively subdued night, Guardiola may flip to the likes of Grealish and Mahrez on the bench to complete off a match-winning passage of play.

“I’m a genius,” Guardiola later joked when requested concerning the substitutions he made within the second half. It got here after a irritating 1-1 draw towards Everton on Saturday, throughout which Guardiola didn’t make any adjustments till the 87th minute.

The win got here at an essential time in Man Metropolis’s season. Its subsequent two Premier League video games are towards Manchester United and Tottenham on January 14 and 19 – probably tough contests because the defending champion appears to shut the hole on a high-flying Arsenal aspect.

Chelsea, in the meantime, continues to battle underneath supervisor Graham Potter and has now received simply considered one of its previous eight Premier League matches.

The most recent defeat means the Blues are tenth within the league desk with one other recreation towards Man Metropolis within the FA Cup up subsequent on Sunday.