Evidence before Manchester derby suggests system-based City and structureless United signed the wrong player last summer
With
Manchester City desperate for an equaliser against Crystal Palace last weekend, Jack Grealish was taken off. He was also taken off as City sought goals against
Paris Saint-Germain and
Liverpool. Grealish has started nine of City’s 10
Premier League games since his move from Aston Villa and registered two assists – in the 5-0 win over
Arsenal and the 4-1 win over Brighton – and one goal – in the 5-0 win over Norwich. It’s a crude measure and the season is only a quarter gone, but Grealish is yet to deliver game-turning moments in the biggest games or when the pressure is on.
But he is at least doing better than Jadon Sancho, who has started only three league games for
Manchester United since he joined from Borussia Dortmund and completed none of them. He hasn’t scored and he hasn’t registered an assist. Worse than that, if the switch to a back three is more than a short-term fix, it’s very hard to see where he has any place in a side that have suddenly done away with wingers.