“I don’t want to upset Cancelo but since the day he left Man City, Grealish has shown football at a superior level. It feels like Grealish has more space on the left to attack,” SPORTbible quoted the comment . Comments from a “The Citizens” fan on social media.
Another account commented: “Joao (Cancelo – PV) likes to attack, sometimes entering the penalty area, so it makes Jack (Grealish – PV) to play further away from goal to attract defenders.” .
More humorously, another user commented: “Cancelo has excellent technique so Grealish is not confident enough to dance in front of the opposing defender but often passes the ball to him. When playing with Nathan Ake (player who is more inclined to play) more defensive than Cancelo – PV), Grealish took the pressure off so he was braver to hold the ball and break through.”
After the departure of Cancelo in early 2023, Grealish played more and more sublimely in the Man City shirt. Photo: Reuters.
In January, Cancelo left Man City to join Bayern Munich on loan during the 2022/23 mid-season transfer window. This information surprised many people because the Portuguese defender has been a mainstay in coach Pep’s squad since moving to England to play in 2019.
Sharing with O Jogo, Cancelo explained the incident: “After the 2022 World Cup, Pep found a new way to play. He required the left-back position to be less advanced than before to stay at home to support the defense. Through monitoring, he liked the performance of Nathan (Ake – PV) more than me. My minutes played gradually decreased and I chose to join Bayern to play more.”
However, Cancelo has only 371 minutes to play in 10 appearances for Bayern in all competitions. The frequent entry from the bench at the “Gray Lobster”, the latest in the 4-2 victory over Dortmund on April 1, made the Man City players unhappy.
Meanwhile, Grealish became an important piece in Pep’s scheme . Despite only owning 4 goals and 5 assists in the Premier League this season, the English player is the face that creates many threats from the left corridor of Man City. On April 1, the former Aston Villa star received a rain of praise after an impressive performance in the 4-1 victory of “The Citizens” against Liverpool.
Pep is a strategist who likes to find innovation in playing tactics. In recent times, he has begun to alternate between his favorites 4-3-3 and 3-2-4-1. Not only that, this season, the Spanish captain also performed many tests such as using midfielder Bernardo Silva in the position of full-back, or for midfielder John Stones to play in central midfield.
