Guardiola is happy for Grealish after helping Manchester City get off to a dream start

With Grealish and Malmush scoring, Manchester City defeated Leicester 2-0 in the 30th round of the 2024/25 Premier League. Guardiola said that it was difficult for forwards or midfielders to play based on Leicester's defensive style, so he was very happy that Grealish scored.

Two minutes into the game, Savio received a pass from Doku and made a triangle pass back to Grealish who then shot the ball into the goal, helping Manchester City get off to a dream start with a 1-0 lead.

In the 29th minute, Diaz made a lob pass into the penalty area. Leicester goalkeeper Hermansson dropped the ball when he tried to save it, and Malmus got the ball and shot directly low, helping Manchester City extend their lead to 2-0.

In the end, Manchester City defeated newly promoted Leicester 2-0 at the Etihad Stadium.

Manchester City coach Guardiola said in an interview, "Glarish scored a goal and even had another chance. He likes to play in the middle and is the kind of player who likes to play freely. Of course we also have some tactical modes, but he is also very comfortable playing on the wing."

"There was a lot of competition for that position but we always felt he was capable of getting on the ball between the lines and making that extra key pass, although it was a shame he didn't get a penalty in the second half."

Guardiola continued, "I'm happy for him. I know it's not easy when players don't play often. He played very well in the last FA Cup game, even better than this game. We have to be more aggressive in that position, but based on Leicester's defense, it makes it difficult for strikers or midfielders to play."

“We expected them to play more aggressively and man-mark like they did against Chelsea and Manchester United, but that didn’t happen in this game. When they play low and close down spaces, it’s not easy for the players in the midfield. We didn’t score the third goal, if we could have scored the third goal it would have been a lot easier and we could have scored a few more.”

In addition, Guardiola added, "In this season, we have experienced many times that the opponent equalized the score when we were leading 2-0, and we lost a lot of points because of this, so the game was not really 'over', which is why I made substitutions later."