Travesty if England snub Grealish
JACK GREALISH has proved as persistent this season as a left jab from Anthony Joshua, the Aston Villa captain routinely reminding Gareth Southgate of his talents. The 24-year-old only hopes another slap in the face does not come back at him when the England manager names his next squad. Using his weaker left foot, Grealish secured a point for Villa and made one to Southgate. What more must the attacking midfielder do to earn a call-up? For him to be overlooked again would be a travesty; the harshest snub of a Jack since Rose hogged that door after the Titanic went down. It is Grealish keeping Villa’s heads above water now. Grealish has been involved in 41 per cent of Villa’s Premier League goals this season, with Saturday’s strike a vital one against relegation rivals. A peach of a finish it was, too, as he let the ball run across his body before beating Mathew Ryan in his near top corner from 15 yards. ‘He keeps pushing us as coaches to make him better,’ manager Dean Smith said. ‘When you’ve got that attitude, he’s going to be a top player. ‘When I first took over, we were 15, 16 games into the season and I asked him how many goals he’d scored. He said: “One”. How many assists? “None”. He’s got a good habit now of being a goalscorer.’ Grealish’s strike in the 75th minute cancelled out Leandro Trossard’s opener in the 38th — the first goal conceded in the Premier League by Pepe Reina since 2013. Brighton are making an unfortunate habit of failing to hold on to leads — this result means they have dropped 14 points from winning positions this season. Boss Graham Potter acknowledged they need to start seeing games out better.
Villa now turn their attention to Watford tomorrow, while Brighton head to Bournemouth. The title race may appear over, but the one against relegation is just heating up.