Nights like this sum him up – Jack Grealish hails City team-mate Kevin De Bruyne

By Sports Desk May 10, 2023

Jack Grealish feels like Kevin De Bruyne was made for the Champions League after the Belgian’s vital semi-final strike for Manchester City at Real Madrid.

De Bruyne netted a stunning equaliser as the Premier League leaders claimed a 1-1 draw in the first leg of their last-four tie against the holders at the Bernabeu on Tuesday night.

Despite dominating a lot of the early play, City were trailing to an equally brilliant Vinicius Junior goal when De Bruyne rifled home from distance after 67 minutes.

His screamer left the tie delicately poised ahead of next Wednesday’s return leg at the Etihad Stadium.

Grealish said: “We all know what a guy Kevin is and what a brilliant player he has been for this football club. Nights like this are just made for him and sum him up really.

“City fans can’t count how many times he’s scored important goals, got important assists.

“It must have meant a lot to him and obviously I’m buzzing for him.”

City outplayed Real, who are bidding to win the European Cup for a record-extending 15th time, as they dominated possession in the opening half-hour but they were caught out by Vinicius’ wonder strike after 36 minutes.

The Brazilian let fly from from 25 yards after good work by Eduardo Camavinga and City needed to retain their composure in a difficult atmosphere to get back into the game.

They were rewarded when De Bruyne replicated Vinicius’ heroics but Real also had their moments of dominance in a hard-fought second half.

With both goalkeepers making good saves, the outcome remains very much in the balance.

“Everyone knows what the Champions League is like,” Grealish said. “It’s a brilliant competition – brilliant players, brilliant stadiums and brilliant teams.

“That was their first attempt, when they scored the goal. It was a great strike, there probably wasn’t much we could do about it, but we hung in there.

“It was great mental strength from everyone to carry on playing, carry on trying and in the end Kev came up with an absolute worldie.

“We came here to win the game, that’s what we wanted to do, but in the end I think the draw was probably was a fair result.”

Treble-chasing City can ill-afford to ease up ahead of the return encounter, with a testing trip to relegation-threatened Everton at the weekend.

With the Toffees fighting for survival, it is likely to be a different type of encounter and the Premier League leaders will be determined to pick up points to hold off Arsenal in the title race.

It is a challenge Grealish is relishing.

“I feel unstoppable at the moment,” the 27-year-old said: “You’re looking around, playing with these guys that are unbelievable.

“And the fans are brilliant, every home and away game. I’m sure we’ll need them at Goodison Park at the weekend and, of course, the Etihad next Wednesday, which we’re all buzzing for already.”

Related items

  • Excelsior, St Catherine consolidate group honours after 5-1, 1-1 scorelines against Jonathan Grant, Jamaica College Excelsior, St Catherine consolidate group honours after 5-1, 1-1 scorelines against Jonathan Grant, Jamaica College

    Excelsior High and St Catherine High consolidated their positions atop Groups Two and Four after registering contrasting performances against Jonathan Grant and Jamaica College, respectively, on the final day of the Inter-secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA)/Digicel Manning Cup Round of 16 encounters on Saturday.

    Excelsior High registered a commanding 5-1 win over Jonathan Grant to finish at the summit of Group Two with maximum nine points.

    They will be joined in the quarterfinal by Tivoli Gardens, who ended second with four points and a slightly better goal difference ahead of Eltham (four points) after they played out a lively 2-2 stalemate in the other group fixture.

    Over in Group Four, St Catherine’s 1-1 stalemate with former champions Jamaica College saw them top the group with seven points, two points ahead of their Old Hope Road-based opponents, who ended with five points to also progress to the quarterfinal.

    Calabar ended third on four points after they defeated Charlie Smith 3-0 in a game of academic interest.

    The quarterfinal groups will see Mona High, Tivoli High, Jamaica College and Kingston College crossing swords in Group A, while St Catherine, Excelsior High, Campion College and Hydel are set to do battle in Group B.

    Meanwhile, all other teams that failed to progress from the Round of 16 will contest the Walker Cup knockout competition.

    Saturday’s results

    St Catherine 1, Jamaica College 1

    Eltham 2, Tivoli High 2

    Excelsior 5, Jonathan Grant 1

    Calabar 3, Charlie Smith 0

  • New daCosta Cup champs to be crowned as Clarendon College eliminated after 1-2 loss to Cornwall College New daCosta Cup champs to be crowned as Clarendon College eliminated after 1-2 loss to Cornwall College

    A new champion will be crowned in the Inter-secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA)/Wata daCosta Cup as defending champions Clarendon College were knocked out at the competition following a 1-2 loss to Cornwall College in their final Round of 16 contest in May Pen on Saturday.

    Deshaun Talbert (33rd) and Dante Escoffery (44th) got the goals in the consolation win for Cornwall College in Zone Two, while Nicholy Forbes pulled one back for Clarendon College in the 73rd.

    The result saw both teams being eliminated from the daCosta Cup as Zone winners Munro College (seven points) and Frome Technical (five points) secured the quarterfinal spots after a goalless stalemate in the other zone contest.

    Cornwall College and Clarendon College ended on three points and one point, respectively. However, both teams will have a shot at the Ben Francis knockout title.

    Theodore ‘Tappa’ Whitmore was pleased with the fact that his team ended the daCosta Cup on a high.

    “I think it was more the desire and commitment with which we played. The second half of the season has been lacking but they came out this afternoon and we could see the fight and commitment from the players. The Ben Francis Cup is still a trophy to play for so we are looking forward to it, but it is a game-by-game situation so we just want to get the first game out the way and then see where we go from there,” Whitmore said in a post-game interview.

    Though Clarendon College had a slight chance of progressing, provided they won and Frome Technical lost, it was Cornwall College, playing for pride, that looked more purposeful from the start.

    Kayvon Donaldson proved troublesome to the opponent’s defence as he got the first two warning shots off from distance, the first of which went straight at Lydel Rodney in goal for Clarendon College, while the second sailed over the crossbar.

    Donaldson, sporting the number 14 jersey, continued to lead Cornwall College’s attacking line and his persistence proved rewarding when he won a penalty after being taken out inside the 18-yard box. Talbert later converted the 12-yard kick.

    With Clarendon College looking deflated, Cornwall College doubled their lead when Escoffery produced a well-timed run to meet a weighted pass inside the 18-yard box and head past Rodney, who should have done better.

    Clarendon College showed more life on the resumption and created a few decent opportunities, with Forbes at the forefront of each attack.

    The player sporting the number nine jersey first went close in the 71st when he was played in behind defenders, but his first effort came back off the upright, while the follow-up attempt was kept out by Carlyle Tinglin in goal for Cornwall College.

    Forbes again went close soon after, but again failed to beat Tinglin, who was well-positioned to stop the effort.

    He inevitably hit the back of the net when he finished a rebound after Tinglin spilled the ball from Nashon Bolt’s freekick.

    Clarendon College’s Head coach, Lenworth ‘Teacha’ Hyde, felt his team underperformed this season.

    “We didn’t do well this season; we lost some players last year, so we are basically on a rebuilding process. We have some Under-16 players to look at to gel with these current players. So it is a rebuilding process but I think we played well today, we had possession, it is just that we are not scoring, hence we lost the game,” Hyde said.

    Saturday’s results

    Alphansus Davis 0, Garvey Maceo 0

    Kemps Hill 0, STETHS 2

    Clarendon College 1, Cornwall College 2

    Frome Technical 0, Munro College 0

    Ocho Rios 2, Dinthill Technical 2

    Happy Grove 0, Glenmuir 1

    Central High 2, McGrath 1

    Manchester High 2, Denbigh High 2

  • Milan boss Fonseca not scared of Real Madrid Milan boss Fonseca not scared of Real Madrid

    Paulo Fonseca downplayed the significance of next week's Champions League clash with Real Madrid following Milan's gritty 1-0 away win over Monza.

    Milan are seventh in Serie A following Saturday's win, which came courtesy of a Tijjani Reijnders header.

    The Rossoneri, who have been crowned champions of Europe on seven occasions, are 25th in the new-look Champions League standings, having taken three points from their opening three matches.

    But Fonseca did not think his team would be overawed at the prospect of facing 15-time European champions Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu on Tuesday.

    "I am always fired up for every game and do not think that Real Madrid is any more important than what we played tonight," Fonseca told Sky Sports Italia.

    "I strongly believe in teamwork. Nowadays, football is challenging; we need to function as a team at all times, and that’s what we’re striving to achieve."

    Speaking to DAZN, Fonseca added: "On Tuesday, we face Real, but it doesn't matter if it's Real Madrid or any other team; we need points to improve our position in the standings. I hope it will be a great night for all of us."

    While Monza dominated the first half, they could not find the margins to score. Milan rallied in the second half, with Fonseca acknowledging that the first-half performance was below par.

    "I was concerned in the first half as we weren’t aggressive enough and didn’t win enough individual duels, but I don’t really remember Monza's chances in the second half," Fonseca said.

    "We adjusted what we needed to do during the half-time break and it was a totally different game after that."

    Substitute Rafael Leao entered the match late and came close to scoring twice in the closing stages.

    "He came on well, it is important to have this reaction from Rafa and that's what I want to see. I think he is ready to play in Madrid," Fonseca said.

© 2024 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.