How Jack Grealish can make all the difference for Man City against Manchester United

Jack Grealish's role at Manchester City has become centre stage in recent weeks.

His critics, such as Graeme Souness, have been highlighting his limited goal contributions this season – with the England international providing the perfect response as he opened his goalscoring account in City’s last fixture against Wolves. Grealish has been the first to acknowledge that his goals and assists return could be improved, admitting after the win over Wolves: "I should be scoring and getting more assists. The only thing I can do is score and get assists. I’m always going to have people talking about me with the amount I got bought for.

"If you look at my whole career, I probably haven’t scored as much as certain people, even when I was at Aston Villa I only scored 14/15 goals over the two seasons in the Premier League. It’s something I do want to add to my game and playing with this team and in front of these fans, hopefully, I can."

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And City boss Pep Guardiola has also been quick to defend his player, stating: "We didn’t sign for the incredible goals or assists at Aston Villa. It was another reason and when he played, he did it. I want [him] to make goals and assists and he does too. But it’s not that, it’s about his contribution without the ball and what he can produce for the other ones."

What is forgotten about when simply referring to Grealish's goal contributions is his unique ability to control games, something his boss is all too aware of. Speaking to Sky Sports last season Guardiola said: "When you play 60 metres away from your goal, then the controlling of the counter-attack is important. Sometimes it is not possible because of the opposition players, but if