Grealish in line to play key part in City’s title tilt
Pep Guardiola hopes to have the Jack Grealish of last season back for the closing stages of Manchester City’s latest push for silverware.
Grealish (right), a key part of City’s treble success last season, has endured a frustrating campaign this time around.
He missed a month early in the season with a dead leg and a groin problem has limited him to just one appearance in City’s last seven games.
The 28-year-old also had a spell out through illness and had personal matters to deal with after a high-profile burglary at his home.
His form has suffered and, with other players excelling in his place, he has not been able to get a consistent run in the side.
Yet he could return as City take on Newcastle in the FA Cup quarter-finals at the Etihad Stadium today and Guardiola believes the player can get back to his best.
The City manager said: “We’ll see. We have this game and then two weeks wherehewillworkhardandascleveras possible to be ready when we come back.
“He’s trained the last two or three days really good. He feels good and positive.
“Saturday maybe we’ll need him and then he has these two weeks, especially to work well and come back.
“Then we can have the Jack that unfortunately this season we had few, few times – and he can help us.
“Always we dream of arriving at the last international break of the season in all competitions.
“Jack has helped us but not like last season. That’s why the most important thing is to recover well from this minor injury and take a good condition in case we need him.
“I’m not going to say how important Jack is – of course he is. But he has to be ready.”
City will come up against one of world football’s standout players in Jude Bellingham when they face Real Madrid in the quarter-finals of the Champions League next month.
The holders have been drawn against the Spanish giants for a third successive season and Guardiola recognises they are a tougher proposition with the Englishman in their midfield.
City overpowered Real in last year’s semi-finals with a 4-0 win in the second leg at the Etihad Stadium.
Guardiola said of Bellingham: “His impact has been massive. It’s a different team from last season. His influence is obvious, and we have to try to discover what he does to control it.
“Facing Real Madrid is always a tough challenge, nobody can deny it. They are an exceptional club, and in this competition can control many things with the experience they have had in the past.
“We have made steps in the last few years but it could be so difficult.”
Manchester City v Newcastle Utd Live, BBC1/Premier Sports 1, 5.30
against historic rivals are always more consequential.
United can beat most teams and still face criticism if the performance is not up to scratch, as was the case against Everton last weekend. But when United face Liverpool, the two clubs’ position as England’s most successful means there is more emotion around these meetings than any in the fixture calendar, only the city derbies getting close.
Winning feels more satisfying and losing stings more.
Managerial changes have often followed the realisation one club has fallen too far behind their north-west neighbour, and particularly poor showings in this fixture for coaches who are already under pressure have a habit of setting the stopwatch for the end of a reign.
Sacked
Brendan Rodgers’ fate was sealed after defeat by United in September 2015, as it later emerged FSG had their first meetings with Klopp in New York shortly after. Jose Mourinho was sacked as United manager after defeat at Anfield in 2018, the hot-blooded reaction to being outplayed demanding immediate reassurance to the fanbase a change of direction was afoot. Three years later, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was sacked within a month of a 5-0 loss at Old Trafford.
Ten Hag’s experiences against Liverpool so far have been mixed. At the start of his reign he won over sceptics with a 2-1 win. Murmurs had begun after a couple of dodgy performances in August 2022. They were laid to rest for a long time after the victory over Liverpool at Old Trafford.
There have not been enough days like that, and the speed with which Liverpool have re-asserted superiority over United having finished eight points behind last season is one of the reasons Ten Hag finds himself in such a difficult situation now. History may offer him comfort.
The FA Cup will always be synonymous at Old Trafford as the trophy which kick-started Alex Ferguson’s glorious reign. Every time an under-pressure United
manager secures a hard-fought, narrow victory in the competition, Mark Robins’ ears are burning.
Casemiro’s late winner against Nottingham Forest in the last round was more worthy of comparison with the goal that changed English football history than most, given it was in the same stadium and against the same opponent where Ferguson’s side famously won in 1990 en route to his first major honour in England.
As a football-mad youngster, I always perceived United as a cup team more than a title challenger. I was at Wembley to see them win it against Everton in 1985. Eighteen months later, Ron Atkinson was sacked.
The last United manager to win the trophy, Louis van Gaal, learned of his dismissal before the 2016 final, given no opportunity to build on that success as the club had already decided to appoint Mourinho. If Ten Hag was to replicate that win, it is hard to imagine United would dispense with his services.
The flipside of that argument, of course, is they are playing a Liverpool side who despite their injuries gave one of their highest quality performances for a few years in the second half of the 1-1 draw with Manchester City.
Klopp and his players will smell blood. Against less illustrious opponents, Klopp might be tempted to play more of his youngsters. Before the last round against Southampton, I was among many Liverpool supporters who hoped to progress in the FA Cup, but deep down was content to prioritise the title bid and Europa League following the Carabao Cup win.
The pairing with United changed that. As Klopp said before the third-round tie away at Arsenal, you don’t compromise in fixtures like this.
Klopp knows his time is coming to an end and is on course to go out with bang. The onus is on Ten Hag to defy those who fear he is about to leave United with a whimper. (© Telegraph Media Group Ltd, 2024)