Jack Grealish’s start to life on loan at Everton got off to a difficult start after his side lost 1-0 to Leeds United.
While David Moyes personally wanted to sign Grealish, the Scotsman took the surprising decision of excluding him from his starting line-up.
However, come the 71st minute, Jack Grealish replaced Tim Iroegbunam off the bench.
Manchester City fans had their say on Grealish’s debut for the Toffees as he did not have much of an impact on proceedings at Elland Road.
Man City fans give mixed reviews to Jack Grealish’s Everton debut vs Leeds United
While watching Grealish in action for Everton against Leeds, one fan believes he would be wishing he put more of an effort to resurrect his Manchester City career, writing: “Bet Grealish is wishing he had put a bit more in at City.”
A second City supporter was frustrated about why the 29-year-old was not given the ball enough by his new teammates, as he wrote: “Give Grealish the ball, bro, he’s better than your entire squad. These guys are back passing in their box when 1-0 down with five minutes left, not even Grealish can save them.”
A third Manchester City fan questioned why Everton boss David Moyes was playing Grealish as a touchline winger against Leeds, a position where he often struggled at the Etihad Stadium: “Everton playing Grealish out wide, have they not been watching him at City for the last two, three years?”
However, other supporters felt vindicated witnessing the England international’s struggles, with one fan sarcastically writing: “Jack Grealish. What a signing! Instant impact. So important to Everton that he didn’t even start!”
A fifth fan predicted the three-time Premier League winner to have little to impact on the Merseyside-based club, claiming: “He will not help Everton, he won’t even score four goals this season.”
With Thierry Henry noticing Grealish’s passiveness at Manchester City in possession, a sixth fan claimed that his cameo against Leeds for Everton showed he was never shackled by Pep Guardiola while being sarcastic: “Glad we all saw ‘Aston Villa Jack Grealish’ today now that he’s been ‘freed’ from the best manager of all time.”
Grealish clearly divided opinion among the City supporters and after his latest outing, the decorated winger will be hoping to become a starter under David Moyes and kicking on this season.
Jack Grealish stats for Everton vs Leeds United
Everton’s defeat to Leeds will likely ignite a fire within Grealish to lead his side to victory moving forward and showing the Manchester City fans that Pep Guardiola made a mistake by letting him go.
However, judging by City’s latest 4-0 win against Wolves and his stats from Monday’s contest, the Catalan’s decision seems justified.
| JACK GREALISH STATS VS LEEDS UNITED | |
| TOUCHES | 15 |
| SHOTS | 1 |
| CHANCES CREATED | 0 |
| ACCURATE PASSES | 8/10 (80%) |
| XG + XA | 0.02 |
Grealish touched the ball just 15 times, which explains why he could not prove to be a match-winner for his side.
With Leeds retaining possession well while doubling up on the Manchester City loanee, their plan to keep the visitors at bay worked to a tee after Lukas Nmecha’s late goal.
