Manchester City are out of the Carabao Cup, after losing 1-0 to Newcastle United.
Alexander Isak grabbed the game’s only goal shortly after half-time, after City had dominated in the first-half.
But clear-cut chances were lacking.
Newcastle had to improve after the break, and they did with thanks to the home crowd.
Isak scored with a back post tap in after a good surge into the box from Joelinton.
City couldn’t find a way through Newcastle’s defence, and they will now focus on the other competitions.
A number of players still gave good accounts of themselves despite the defeat. Some were not so impactful.
One of those who did impress was Jeremy Doku, who is now really breathing down the neck of Jack Grealish…
Jack Grealish under pressure to perform for City after Newcastle game
Grealish started on the left last night against the Magpies.
It was his first start back after recovering from injury.
So that has to be considered when thinking about his performance last night.
But it was a really underwhelming performance from the England international, it has to be said.
Grealish simply got nothing out of Tino Livramento, who was outstanding for the hosts.
Grealish never felt he could take the youngster on on the outside, and regularly just cut back inside to find a simple pass.
And this performance was probably made to look more uninspiring than it actually was when Jeremy Doku came on as a substitute.
Jeremy Doku continues to impress and is surely putting Grealish under pressure
Doku didn’t get very long to catch the eye in the defeat, but that’s exactly what he did.
The £55 million Belgian got the ball and sought to try and get past Livramento and had more success than Grealish.
There was one moment where he spun the youngster on the touchline, before carrying the ball into a dangerous area.
Grealish is a fantastic footballer and has really impressed in the last 12 months.
But Doku has come in and gotten people out of their seats from the off.
The livewire is surely putting the England man under real pressure at the Etihad. Grealish will surely need to start being a bit bolder in games if he is to be the regular pick on that left side.
