"As he always is" - Jack Grealish reveals Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola's half-time message to team during draw against West Ham
Manchester City forward Jack Grealish has revealed what their manager Pep Guardiola said during the half-time of their Premier League clash with West Ham on Sunday.
The Sky Blues saw their title celebrations delayed following a 2-2 draw at the London Stadium, having trailed by two goals at half-time.
A first-half brace from Jarrod Bowen set City on their way to a stunning defeat which would've opened the door for Liverpool to close the gap on them.
However, the holders fought back emphatically after the break.
Grealish scored just four minutes after the restart and City were level 20 minutes later following an own goal from Vladimir Coufal.
Riyad Mahrez then had the chance to complete the turnaround from the penalty spot but saw his effort saved by Lukasz Fabianski, who dived the right way.
Speaking about Guardiola's half-time team-talk which spurred City on, Grealish said:
"(Pep Guardiola) was obviously positive with us as he always is and he gave us a good team talk. He just said we were dominating the game and dominating the ball, even though we were 2-0 down. It just shows the character that we have in the squad."
Praising his side for their performance after the break, he added:
"We have got a lot of injuries, especially in defence, and we still came out in the second-half and put in a great performance. Luckily, we got the two goals and we could have went on to win it, but it wasn’t meant to be.”
Manchester City are currently four points clear of Liverpool but could see the gap trimmed to just one if the Reds overcome Southampton tonight, setting up a grandstand finale on Sunday.
Manchester City are still going to win the league
Liverpool could push the race to the final day but it's unlikely to see them topple Manchester City at the top of the table and become champions.
The Sky Blues must beat Aston Villa on the final day to confirm themselves as champions once again if Liverpool win against Southampton tonight.
Former Reds Steven Gerrard and Philippe Coutinho will be keen to derail their ambitions, but Villa will have to produce something extraordinary to stop Guardiola's juggernaut at the Etihad.
Barring another slip-up, Manchester City are set to win their fourth top-flight title of the last five years.