Ilkay Gundogan has emphasised how crucial Jack Grealish was to Manchester City winning the treble last season.
Speaking to Sport Bild, the Barcelona midfielder was quizzed about his views on the Englishman’s viral celebrations after the milestone.
Ilkay Gundogan says Jack Grealish deserved to let his hair down after how influential he was to Manchester City during their treble triumph.
Ilkay Gundogan says Jack Grealish was ‘incredibly important’ to Manchester City treble win
Branded as ‘phenomenal’ by Stephen Clemence, the 27-year-old, alongside Nathan Ake initially led City’s revival during the second half of the previous campaign.
Grealish evolved as a player, understanding his role in terms of when to retain the ball and when to beat defenders, became a defensive behemoth and stepped up in the biggest of games.
Ilkay Gundogan believes that Jack Grealish deserved to have a blast after Manchester City won the treble due to his instrumental role in the feat.
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“Jack absolutely deserved it. He worked so hard on himself, made a great contribution to the team. There was some criticism of his scoring points, but Jack was an incredibly important factor for the team. Through running, passes, his presence. We knew relatively early on with him: if we win all the titles in the end, then things could escalate a bit for Jack… But that’s how it should be.”
Jack Grealish silenced his doubters
Ilkay Gundogan is spot on and it was truly special to witness Jack Grealish silence his critics as Manchester City won the treble.
The manner in which the former Aston Villa captain adapted to his role as a ball retentive winger was a sight to see.
And time and again, Grealish made himself counted in the biggest of games, be it his masterful displays against Bayern Munich and Real Madrid in the Champions League, his winner against Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium or his match-winning assist against Chelsea at home as well.
Grealish’s doubters seemed to have finally realised that his role at City had done a complete 180 and impressively, he adapted to his side’s demands perfectly.