“It was a typical FA Cup game – that’s why this competition is unbelievable,” said Pep Guardiola after Manchester City had made it out alive from their fourth-round tie with Leyton Orient. The coach talked animatedly about “the vibe, the smell of the crowd”, those elements that make the oldest competition in football so special. Yet most of his players seemed to hate every minute.
Teenage debutant Vitor Reis didn’t know what had hit him. Nor did Nico Gonzalez, who was knocked to the floor and landed on by an opponent in the build-up to conceding a 50-yard screamer in an incident that knocked the deadline-day signing out of the game inside the first half.
One player, however, appeared to be in his element. That was Jack Grealish, who was one of City’s most experienced players on the pitch and their best performer. He didn’t wince at the prospect of fans being right on top of him, of lower league veterans getting stuck in. He came alive in the surroundings, keeping City afloat and ultimately getting them back into the game.
It was a rare outing for Grealish, who had not started since City’s previous FA Cup tie against Salford City, and has not been named to a Premier League line up for seven weeks,. He sure made the most out of it, and now Guardiola should reward his efforts and bring him back into the fold for the biggest game of City’s season against Real Madrid.