Pep Guardiola
Pep Guardiola predicts that Jack Grealish’s day will come after his goal frustration continued. The record Manchester City signing missed an open goal as the Blues beat Wolves 1-0, leaving him on just two goals in 19 games — and none in his last 13 — since arriving from Aston Villa in the summer.
Pep Guardiola said: “One day he’ll unlock, he’ll score. Jack is a player whose decision making is always really good. In the final third he needs to do it but it will come.”
City’s lack of a natural goalscoring striker almost cost them again as they created chances and missed them, before finally winning the game with a controversial penalty, converted by Sterling. Guardiola made the point that even natural strikers would suffer against a side like Wolves, who packed the penalty area and showed little attacking ambition.
Pep Guardiola said: “For strikers, when you play with 10 players, nine players in the box it’s so difficult. That’s why when one team doesn’t want to play and it’s just long balls and they don’t press, it’s just shoot and cross, passive movements, always it’s so difficult. We knew it and in the past we’ve suffered it. After when it became a little bit crazy for the way we attacked, they could run. After Adama (Traore) or (Raul) Jimenez and the quality of players they have up front, they made the difference. These are always difficult games against them, that’s why they are in the position they’re in. That’s why in the last 11 games they just lost three. They are an incredibly good side, that’s why I give a lot of credit to only concede one action in 93 minutes, no more than that and we were better. In the end, the game is what you have done not what the opponent has done and with 11 players against 10 players from Wolves we were better.”
