Pep Guardiola defends Man City star Jack Grealish after criticism over display vs Dortmund

Pep Guardiola defended Jack Grealish's performance against Borussia Dortmund though admitted the England international does need to find some momentum.

Manchester City were forced to fight from behind for a third time this season against the visiting Germans in the Champions League on Wednesday, with Dortmund knocking the Blues off their rhythm and taking the lead through Jude Bellingham. It wasn't until Grealish, as well as Ilkay Gundogan and Riyad Mahrez, were taken off that City begin to find their groove and eventually turn things around through goals from John Stones and Erling Haaland.

Grealish had a particularly difficult afternoon but Guardiola insisted he is delighted with what the playmaker is bringing on the pitch and levelled the blame at a lack of support from his teammates for his subpar display. "He started well, had a knee problem, ankle? Lucky it wasn’t worse," Guardiola began, referencing Grealish's recent injury.

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"Last game [Dortmund] in the final third, he was the only one who made aggressive runs, but at the moment he didn’t have his mates in the box, we left him isolated, the others should have been there to help. With the ball, we didn’t make any movements to help him. I know him and I'm more than happy and delighted with what he’s doing, [but he] needs to get momentum."

Grealish only has six goals and four assists in his 44 appearances for City but Guardiola maintains that he wasn't signed solely for great numbers, even if the No.10 wants to improve them himself.

"We didn’t sign him for that, that wasn’t the reason," Guardiola explained. "He competes with top players and he knows it perfectly and never