Jack Grealish is ready to be "the X factor" for Manchester City in their Champions League semi-final tie with Real Madrid, according to the club's former defender Kolo Toure.
Toure heralded the winger’s uniqueness and bravery with the ball ahead of what many have identified as treble-chasing City’s toughest challenge so far this season.
Pep Guardiola’s men will be desperate to make it past Los Blancos after their opponents’ stunning comeback against his side in last year’s semi-finals.
Pundits and fans have been identifying Erling Haaland as City’s key difference maker following a record-breaking first season in Manchester that has seen him score 51 goals in all competitions.
But Toure feels it may well be Grealish who City end up relying on as they look to finally get their hands on the elusive Champions League trophy, with the first leg of their last-four tie taking place on Tuesday.
"He is such an effective player and for me it is unique players like that who win the Champions League because he has that X factor," Toure told Stats Perform about Grealish ahead of the match at Santiago Bernabeu.
"It is his personality. He's not scared, he likes getting the ball under big pressure, and they need him in the Champions League.
"I think he's going to be really big for them in the Champions League games coming up."
Grealish will not need reminding of last season’s disappointment in Madrid, where City led by two goals going into the final minute of the second leg before collapsing to a 6-5 aggregate defeat after extra time.
As City sought to put the tie beyond doubt, the Englishman was centre stage. He saw an effort cleared off the line by Ferland Mendy before the exceptional Thibaut Courtois saved from him as opportunities went begging.
Many questioned whether City had made the right move bringing Grealish to the club. A low output – just three Premier League goals and three assists – in his first season under Guardiola and a £100 million transfer fee did not help his case.
He entered a squad stacked with attacking players who have technical ability in abundance and were already established as greats of the Guardiola era. The records of Bernardo Silva, Riyad Mahrez and Kevin De Bruyne speak for themselves.
But Grealish’s development this season has been impressive, and this has not been lost on Toure.
"I think when he came to City, he came to a different team," explained Toure.
"With Aston Villa, he used to play as a free man and he used to be the playmaker. He used to be the one who does everything when they have the ball.
"They were working for him to make sure he just created chances on his own really by dribbling past one or two players and then passing the ball to his team-mates or scoring himself, and he had a habit of doing that from a young age.
"And then he came to Man City, which is a team with tactical discipline, which is a team with top players around him, which is a team that is not about one player but is about all the squad, it is about all the players on the pitch.
"And you find it difficult because he was learning the Man City way.
"He was trying to be disciplined because when you have been a free man running everywhere and then your manager says ‘you just stay there and the ball will get to you’ [it is an adjustment]. When the ball doesn't come for 20 seconds, you just want to get it.
"But Pep knew that this boy has big quality, and you just needed to be taught the tactical discipline and you can see how effective he is now.
"What happens when you have tactical discipline, you are not running everywhere on the pitch and you save a lot of energy and, when the ball gets there, you have plenty of energy to do even better than you used to.
"And you can see as how defensively he is working harder because he is not wasting energy. He is just in the right position for the ball get to him and then to attack one, two or three players."
Toure’s observations certainly stack up when looking at Grealish’s numbers. The England man has improved his assist output (11 in all competitions) and receives more progressive passes per game than in his first season at City, pointing his better understanding of his manager’s demands in tandem with his team-mates.
Guardiola is known to demand so much of his players and even Sergio Aguero once faced questions over his suitability. Many goals and many trophies later and that sentiment is one those who shared it will be hoping to forget.
Throw in names like Mahrez and Raheem Sterling and the list of attackers who have taken time before growing into key roles at the club is now a who’s-who of City successes.
Grealish will be hoping his critics will be quieter still as the season draws to a close following his breakout year at the top of English football.
But he along with his team-mates know Champions League glory will be the true marker of how they are viewed as City return to Madrid looking to show their growth and seeking redemption.
Frank praises Brentford's pressing, sees no tactical revamp with Toney departure
Thomas Frank heaped praise on Brentford's pressing following their 3-1 victory over Southampton on Saturday.
Bryan Mbeumo scored twice from Brentford's forwards forcing the Southampton backline into errors as the Bees earned their second Premier League win of the season.
This did not go unnoticed by Frank, who believes his side rank as one of the best in the league when it comes to that specific aspect.
He told BBC Sport: "They made errors because we pressed them unbelievably well. I think we are one of the best teams to do the high pressure in the Premier League.
"The players are so committed and that is the reason why we capitalised on errors from Southampton.”
Despite the departure of Ivan Toney to Al-Ahli, Frank does not think their style of play will have to be restructured too much, with both Mbuemo and Yoane Wissa enjoying productive starts to the season in his absence.
Frank said: “Ivan is a fantastic player, I'd love to have him in the team but he has his own journey and is going elsewhere.
"Our style of play hasn't changed. Wissa and Ivan are different players but the style doesn't change.”
Southampton boss Russell Martin was frustrated with his side’s mistakes at crucial moments, believing their performance was far better than the scoreline suggested.
He said to the BBC: “We made two mistakes that we were punished for, which is frustrating and disappointing.
"I saw lots of good things to feel positive about. I feel a lot better this week than I did after the Nottingham Forest game.”
Guardiola has 'no words' for hat-trick hero Haaland
Pep Guardiola was lost for words to describe Erling Haaland after his eighth Premier League hat-trick fired Manchester City to a 3-1 victory over West Ham.
Having scored a treble to help City claim a 4-1 win over Ipswich Town on matchday two, Haaland did likewise on Saturday to keep them perfect as they edged out the Hammers at the London Stadium.
Haaland's seven goals this season are the most any player has ever netted in the first three matches of a Premier League campaign, while only Sergio Aguero (12), Alan Shearer (11) and Robbie Fowler (nine) have ever helped themselves to more match balls in the competition.
Across English football's top four tiers, he is also the first player to score two hat-tricks in a team's first three games of a league season since Bradford City's Paul Jewell in 1994-95.
The Norwegian has now scored more than once in 26% of his Premier League matches (18/69, eight hat-tricks, 10 braces), leaving Guardiola in disbelief.
"There are no words for him," Guardiola told BBC Sport.
"All we can do is make him play better and better and give him as many balls as possible into the box. It's what we have to do. We are there and we added quality.
"This is a team. When you have to run backward, no one asks who has to do it. Everyone has to. When we see Erling doing that, it is fantastic."
Haaland himself, meanwhile, believes having an extended pre-season due to Norway missing out on Euro 2024 has helped him start the season in peak condition.
"I feel good. I feel energised. I had a long vacation and a long pre-season. I'm feeling good," Haaland told City's website.
"The years here have gone quick and it's been going like, 'bam bam bam', now I have a little bit of rest in my body and my feet. I feel really good now and I'm ready for more.
"I feel more refreshed and more energised. So when you do that you can practice on things you want to become better at in training. I feel good. I want to become better. I'm happy."
City sit top of the early-season table with nine points from nine available and saw last season's runners-up Arsenal slip up on Saturday, drawing 1-1 with Brighton and Hove Albion.
Haaland, though, feels it is too early to think about the title race, adding: "They [City's rivals] haven't slipped up yet. Three games, nine points. This is a great start.
"But let's not think too far ahead, because there’s potentially 70 games left this season. Let's breathe a bit and take it game by game."
Lopetegui rues missed opportunity as West Ham lose to Man City
West Ham manager Julen Lopetegui was not encouraged by the performance of his team despite losing 3-1 at home to Manchester City in their third league game.
“It is true that City is one of the best teams around the world for sure… but it is also true too that in the second half we have been very close to a draw,” he said speaking to BBC Match of the Day.
“I think we have played one very good second half. The start has been very good for us too.”
West Ham threatened for extended periods of the match and had chances to level the match at 2-1 down, with the best coming from Mohammed Kudus as he smashed a shot against the bar in the second half.
They also started the game brightly before going a goal down inside 10 minutes.
“In my mind we started very well, being aggressive,” said Lopetegui.
“We know in this plan normally they have initiative, it’s very difficult to not concede initiative then. That’s why you have to do a lot of very good things to overcome them.
“In the second half we had chances, I think we kept the ball much more, much more, and didn't concede a lot of chances."
But the hosts were ultimately undone by the brilliant finishing of Erling Haaland, who scored his second hat-trick in as many matches.
“He is one of the best players in the world, that's why he plays for Manchester City,” he said.
“You have to compete with these kind of players. City has the power and the quality to create chances.”
But ultimately, he was left frustrated at the sense of a missed opportunity and that his team were unable to earn themselves a draw that hadn’t seemed implausible during the match.
“Today I think the first goal was a pity for us but I’ve said it. I was happy with the performance think we were able to draw but again they damage us,” he said.
“Against this kind of team, if you make a mistake they don’t forgive. This is the difference they have… A little mistake they punish you, they punish us.
“We have to improve, to know to compete against this kind of team to be close to perfection.
“Don't make mistakes, be calm, defend well… we have quality players too.”
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