Jack Grealish was evidently over the moon judging by his animated celebrations after Manchester City won 2-1 against Wolves, thanks to a late John Stones winner on Sunday.
Grealish reacted to Manchester City’s victory against Wolves on Instagram by captioning his post: “What a win! Days like this! Johnny, Johnny Stones!”
Grealish also sent a message to Stones after his winning goal against Gary O’Neil’s side on social media.
Notably, Grealish revealed Manchester City were unaffected by Arsenal’s defeat to AFC Bournemouth on Saturday.
Instead, Grealish and his teammates seems to be enjoying City’s late heroics and focusing on the present.
Grealish says Premier League rivals defending deep against Man City is a “compliment”
Manchester City’s delight also seems to stem from the fact that their battle against Wolves tested them to the limit.
Josko Gvardiol commented on Manchester City’s win against Wolves by emphasising his team will always “fight” until the end of any contest; a quality they displayed at the Molineux Stadium.
In the aftermath of the tightly-contested affair, Grealish observed how teams like Wolves and other sides in the Premier League have had a much more defensive approach to facing Manchester City; a tactic that Pep Guardiola’s men should see as a “compliment.”
The 29-year-old said via The Mirror: “We lost at Molineux last season, so we knew it would be difficult. We seem to be coming up against teams more and more that put players behind the ball. The only way we can take it is that it’s a compliment to us.”
“A lot of teams are doing it now. Wolves are a top team. I don’t know how they are at the bottom of the league. From what I’ve seen, they have been really good this season; they’re just unlucky in starting games.”
“They played Chelsea and Liverpool and those games were really open. Then they played us and put a lot of people behind the ball. Like I say, we have to use it as a compliment.”
Wolves certainly tried to give the visitors little to no space and make life as difficult for them as possible.
John Stones described Manchester City’s outing against Wolves as “difficult” after the game.
Wolves stats vs Man City prove Jack Grealish right
Grealish has clearly noticed that against other top teams like Chelsea and Liverpool, Wolves were not as pragmatic as against Manchester City.
Gary O’Neil must have been wary of letting the hosts go toe-to-toe with City.
Judging by the statistics, Wolves’ happiness to sit back and soak pressure stands out.
| WOLVES STATS VS MAN CITY | |
| POSSESSION | 22% |
| xG (Expected Goals) | 0.91 |
| SHOTS | 3 |
| SHOTS ON TARGET | 3 |
| PASS ACCURACY | 66% |
| GOALKEEPER SAVES | 5 |
The strategy Gary O’Neil seemingly laid out almost worked out in his side’s favour.
Stones’ headed goal has perhaps forced the Wolves boss to go back to the drawing board.
But as Grealish stated, even the numbers suggest that teams do not mind relinquishing control against Manchester City due to the fear factor associated with them as a side.
