Jack Grealish has claimed in his post-match interview with Manchester City that Pep Guardiola instructed him to ‘be aggressive’ against Chelsea’s Cesar Azpilicueta last night.
The Champions won 1-0 at Stamford Bridge last night, after substitutes Grealish and Riyad Mahrez combined for the only goal of the game.
The Blues had been resolute at the back in the first half, looking the better side as the likes of Marc Cucurella and Thiago Silva impressed at the back.
However, City came out a different beast after the break, and the substitutions made by Guardiola seemed to make the difference in what was a close match.
Azpilicueta was starting his second game in a row at right-back after Reece James hobbled off in his return match from injury.
Grealish told to target Azpilicueta
Grealish has now claimed that the City manager instructed him to be extremely aggressive in his attacking style when coming up against the 33-year-old.
He said: “He said what he usually says, he wanted me and Riyad to stay high and wide and be aggressive against our full-back, and luckily we did that, we came on and both made an impact.
“I got the assist and Riyad got the goal. I think that’s what we needed. We were both itching to get on.”
Unfortunately, the club captain appears to be a bit off the pace these days, with the Englishman’s absence becoming bigger every week.
This is despite the Spain international being a fantastic servant since his £6.5m move over a decade ago.
The Blues have been linked with strengthening their depth in the position for next season. They have been linked with the signing of Denzel Dumfries from Inter Milan, although his defensive limitations in comparison to his attacking skills could see the club posed a similar issue when James is absent.
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