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Pep Guardiola billed Jack Grealish as a big player for the big occasion as he gave the £100million man his first action of 2022 in a repeat of the Champions League final against Chelsea.
But the Premier League's most expensive player continues to struggle living up to the hype and Saturday's performance was a microcosm of his first season at The Etihad - satisfactory but nothing special. He's certainly not the reason Pep Guardiola's men stand 13 points clear at the top of the table.
For the most part, Grealish was snuffed out by Chelsea's man-mountain Antonio Rudiger and fluffed his big moment after 40 minutes when Kevin De Bruyne’s interception bounced kindly into his path inside the penalty area.
Jack Grealish gave only an ordinary performance in Manchester City's win over Chelsea
The £100m man had a great chance to break the deadlock but fluffed his big opportunity
Grealish opened up his body and tried to sidefoot past Kepa Arrizabalaga but the angle wasn’t correct and Chelsea’s goalkeeper was able to divert for a corner with his outstretched left leg.
It left Grealish’s goal record at City standing at three in 21 matches, simply not good enough for someone who was the darling of England fans at the Euros last summer.
Indeed, his three strikes have come against Norwich, Leipzig and Leeds, matches that City won by an aggregate score of 18-3.
There have been a few off-field issues for Grealish throughout his career including at City where he and Phil Foden went out and got a reprimand from Pep Guardiola.
The 26-year-old must have felt relief at starting an important match between first and second and he, Foden and Bernardo Silva chatted with each other before the teams lined up, Grealish putting an arm
