In the Premier League’s shifting landscape, this struggling team can no longer carry a winger lacking straight-line pace and a goal threat
Jack Grealish is prowling. The wind tousling his hair, the ball at his feet, the way it was always meant to be. In front of him a wall of Bournemouth defenders jumpily stands guard, eyes wide like stags ready to bolt. Grealish shuffles inside, body feinting, hips dancing. You want to know what happens next. What happens next is that the referee blows for full time.
It’s the 97th minute; Grealish came on in the 91st. In that time Bournemouth somehow managed to score a goal. It wasn’t Grealish’s fault, but it did eat up most of the time in which he was hoping to make an impression. No matter. As the game ends, the cameras hunt down a treble-winning City legend making what might well be his final appearance at the Etihad Stadium. Kevin De Bruyne takes his handshakes and his tributes. Grealish slips quietly down the tunnel.
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