Pep Guardiola instructions for Jack Grealish that sparked Man City goal v Peterborough

Jack Grealish listened to Pep Guardiola's call to be more direct before scoring against Peterborough.

The Manchester City manager has defended his £100m signing this season, insisting he should not be judged solely on goals and assists because of the overall quality that he adds to the team and the collective control that he brings. Nevertheless, the player is keen to improve his statistics and City coaches have been encouraging him to be more selfish in the final third.

That was the message for Grealish at Peterborough as he made his return to the starting lineup following a shin injury that kept him out for a fortnight, the 26-year-old told to always have the goal in mind when he got the ball. It worked too, as he expertly brought down a sumptuous Phil Foden ball in the second half before finishing past the goalkeeper for City's second of the night in a 2-0 win.

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Even though he couldn't follow up the manager's challenge to get a second - going close when a curling effort was turned over the bar - Grealish was happy with his night's work.

“He just says keep going and keep being direct," he said. "I had a few shots, some went into row Z, some the ‘keeper saved and luckily one went in. That is what he said to me, that he doesn’t care if I miss the target, just keep going and keep being direct.

"Then he said to me ‘don’t stop now after one goal, go and get more’. I didn’t do that, but it is a team game, we got the win, we are through to the next round and that is the main thing.”

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