Guardiola wants Grealish to regain treble-winning form

Pep Guardiola has urged Jack Grealish to rediscover the form he showed during Manchester City’s treble-winning season and fight for his starting place.

Grealish made 50 appearances in 2022-23 to help City win the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League, scoring five goals and registering 11 assists.

However, he has since struggled to hit the heights of that campaign. This season, he has started just six of his 14 Premier League appearances and only managed one assist in the competition.

He was also dropped to the bench for City’s 4-1 win over West Ham on Saturday, coming on in the 84th minute, with Savinho starting instead, and assisting both of Erling Haaland’s goals.

“Savinho is in better shape and everything than Jack, and that’s why I played Savinho [against West Ham].

“Do I want the Jack that won the Treble? Yeah, I want it, but I try to be honest with myself for that.

“They have to fight. You can say it’s unfair. OK, if you think that, then it’s fine, but you have to prove [to me], ‘OK, I’m going to fight with Savinho, to deserve to play in that position’, every single day, every single week and every single month.”

Grealish has also struggled with injuries this season which has limited his playing time.

In his 14 Premier League appearances, Grealish has created 22 chances but managed just 13 shots without scoring.

In fact, it has been over a year since he last scored for City, last hitting the net against Crystal Palace in December 2023.

“Two weeks ago, Jack was injured, and he needs rhythm and to play but players need training,” Guardiola added.

“I don’t have any doubt about the quality of Jack or any of these players. But they have to, right now be at your best.

“I fought a lot for him, fought a lot to be here. I know that he can do it because I saw him. I saw his level and I want that, every single training session and every single game.”