Pep Guardiola's challenge to Riyad Mahrez proves what Jack Grealish must do at Man City

Sometimes Pep Guardiola’s press conference answers are not the best examples of brevity and clarity.

Take Friday’s briefing ahead of the weekend trip to Norwich, when Guardiola was asked a question regarding how the Manchester City fanbase’s lingering memories of “ Typical City ” lead to a fatalism almost entirely absent from the pomp and entitlement of his previous employers, Barcelona and Bayern Munich.

Pep responded over the course of three-and-a-half minutes, with a wide-ranging reply that included another enthused flagging of Kevin De Bruyne’s excellent piece of defending against a Brentford counter-attack on Wednesday.

How we got from point A to point B wasn’t immediately obvious.

But the previous two enquiries handily showed the clarity of purpose and vision that underpins all that is well with Guardiola’s City juggernaut.

For a change, all eyes will be on Jack Grealish this weekend as he is reunited with his old mentor Dean Smith. Now Norwich boss, when Smith was in charge of Aston Villa and Grealish was his captain the pair felt like a pair of modern-day folk heroes in the second city.

“No one knows Jack better than Dean and I completely agree with him,” Guardiola said of Smith’s observation that Grealish’s mentality to improve every day and be the best.

This might sound like an attempt to pump up a player whose three goals and as many assists in 25 appearances don’t exactly suggest he is dabbling with perfection.

“He played good when he was playing, he helps us to be in the position we are right now in all competitions. He played at a high level,” Guardiola countered in defence of Grealish, who he explained has adapted quickly to one specific demand that is part of the daily grind for even the most seasoned