An emotional Jack Grealish revealed his goal against Leicester came on the 25th anniversary of his brother’s death.
Grealish was on target as Leicester’s slide towards relegation continued with a 2-0 defeat at City.
Pep Guardiola has appeared to lack faith in Grealish this term, but his decision to hand him a first league start since last December was vindicated with a first Premier League goal in 14 months.
It was an emotive day for the Grealish family. Keelan Grealish was just nine months old when he passed away from cot death in 2000, when Jack was four.
He told Sky Sports: “My little brother passed away 25 years ago today, so this day is always hard for the family but I was happy to score.
“My mum and dad were here. I had to score and to win was brilliant.”
Grealish fires Man City into an early lead against Leicester
On whether he felt relief breaking his goal drought, Grealish added: “As soon as I scored I knew that people would say this.
“This season I haven’t been at my best, even last season. I’ve not started in the Premier League since Christmas but I was happy to score today.
“I think my highest tally for a season is eight – I wasn’t brought here to score 20 or 30 goals a season. When I came here I had only scored six goals for Aston Villa. I’ve never been someone that scores constantly, I’d love to score more, but I offer more to the team than just that.
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FREE TO WATCH: Highlights from Manchester City’s win against Leicester in the Premier League
“I wanted a chance to play. I’ve only started in the FA Cup in 2025. I was devastated not to start at the weekend having started in every round but I played well when I came on. I felt like I deserved to play.”
Guardiola praises ‘incredible’ Grealish
Man City manager Pep Guardiola speaking about Grealish:
“Jack is an incredible human being in terms of gestures. He’s incredibly generous. He scored a goal, made a good game, so it’s good. This is a guy who used to play free, between the lines he’s got the ability to control the ball and play an extra pass. I’m happy for him. It’s not easy when you don’t play regularly.
“We miss chances for the third goal but the rest was really good. Maybe we could have scored more. The experiences we’ve had this season, many times we’ve conceded a goal and then after lost many points.”
