Manchester City's Jack Grealish eases early pressure with debut goal against Norwich

When Jack Grealish made very little impact against Leicester City and Tottenham Hotspur, Pep Guardiola was quick to leap to the defense of his new signing.

The Spanish manager pointed out that “everyone needs time” to settle, adding that the whole team would help Grealish find his feet at the Etihad Stadium.

The £100 million midfielder was once again named in the starting line-up against Norwich City on Saturday, and this time he did not disappoint. Rather, he set the tone for what would become a huge victory.

A win, a goal and my home debut 😍 what a day 💙 pic.twitter.com/m1LvuyaXWZ

— Jack Grealish (@JackGrealish) August 21, 2021

Grealish opens City account

Grealish was afforded 75 minutes to impress against the newly-promoted Norwich and he really took his chance. His goal may have come in fortuitous circumstances but it’ll do a lot of good for his confidence.

The 25-year-old has never really been short of confidence. But he’s in new terrain and it would have only been a matter of time before people started criticizing him had he experienced a goal drought.

But Grealish can now relax and focus on settling in at his new club. He’s now free from the pressure of scoring his first goal for Manchester City.

Guardiola issues challenge to £100 million playmaker

There’s a huge difference between playing for Aston Villa and Manchester City and Grealish has already noticed the difference following the baptism of fire last week against Tottenham.

Grealish has never scored more than 10 goals in a season; he managed just seven last campaign. But at Manchester City, 10 goals is the minimum requirement for a player of his stature.

The England midfielder must have the right mentality to thrive under Pep Guardiola, who clearly sees him as a trump card to unlock teams that sit deep.

“If he gets the mentality to score goals like Raheem Sterling then yeah [he can]. Raheem, when I arrived here, four or five years ago, didn’t have the goal in his mind. That immediately changed,” Guardiola said in his post-match press conference, as quoted by Goal.

“Today Raheem scored a goal because he arrived in the central position like a nine. He is a machine there. Since the first season he changed his mind and decided I am going to score, score, score.

“I don’t know if Jack has that mentality that I’m going to score a goal and win games, I have to discover it. Of course with his quality, he can do it.”

There’s a lot more Grealish can improve about his game and he’ll certainly need to increase his productivity at Manchester City. His debut goal, though, eases some of the pressure that comes with his price tag.