Two Man City stars show why they're undroppable for Pep Guardiola against Bayern Munich

Grealish quietly crucial

Jack Grealish wasn't nearly as involved in the exciting stuff in the second leg of Manchester City's Champions League win over Bayern Munich, there were no crucial goal involvements this time around but his contributions were still just as important. As Pep Guardiola said about him earlier in the season when he was struggling, he isn't in the team for just goals and assists.

Instead, what Grealish did so excellently in the Allianz Arena was repeatedly take the sting out of the match. The number of times he picked up the ball and inevitably found himself tripped up with a free-kick won was bordering on ridiculous. Every time it just whittled down the seconds and subdued a raucous atmosphere.

In the final minutes of the game, as Bayern attempted one last flurry after leveling the scores, City wobbled a touch and it wasn't until Grealish took the ball did they calm down. He got possession, played a nice one-two with Julian Alvarez and then ran rings around several defenders, nutmegging one, before finally being hauled down. It optimised the crucial, if understated, job he had done all night in an incredible shift.

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Ederson continues to show improvement

Criticism of Ederson earlier in 2023 appeared massively overblown but the goalkeeper appears to have taken it to heart as there has been a clear improvement in how he handles one-on-one situations. Just like James Maddison on Saturday, Leroy Sane raced through on goal and only had the goalkeeper to beat but didn't convert.

Ederson, usually so eager and proactive coming off his line, on both occasions showed great restraint and patience, choosing instead to smartly position himself to tighten the