Jack Grealish has revealed the touching text messages he received from his mum following Manchester City’s Champions League match against Real Madrid.
Grealish played the full 90 minutes as Man City drew 1-1 with the La Liga giants in their semi-final first leg clash at the Bernabeu on Tuesday.
Kevin De Bruyne cancelled out Vinicius Junior’s stunning opener as the tie remains in the balance ahead of next Wednesday’s second-leg at the Etihad.
After the result, Grealish spoke to BT Sport, where he touched on his duel with Dani Carvajal, who was slammed by fans for his challenge in the first half.
The Man City forward also revealed he got a wholesome text message from his mum, where she said these are the ‘nights you dreamt of as a kid’.
He said: “You have texts from my mum and she said these are the nights you dreamed of as a kid. Everyone in the world was watching, I pinch myself to be like this is the life isn’t it?!”
The England international added: “We were saying before the game these are the nights that you play football for, these are the nights you dream of.
“It’s like a dream come true really.
“We have a new team this year, different players and it’s a year ago. One thing we have is the perfect balance of experience and a few youngsters.
“We just have quality. I have never felt more confident going onto the pitch having these players around me.
“Yeah it’s obviously difficult. They let us have the first pass a few times and they had a high press after.
“Manager says keep the ball. Playing against Carvajal was tough.
“People said to me last night you know what he’s going to be like. It was a good battle.”
Grealish has starred under Pep Guardiola this season and will likely start in the second-leg. He’s played 45 games in all competitions this campaign, having settled in following his big-money transfer from Aston Villa.
Will he inspire his team to the Champions League final? Let us know.
Manchester City fans call for Dani Carvajal to be BANNED after Jack Grealish foul
Featured Image Credit: BT Sport
Manchester City fans have called for Real Madrid defender Dani Carvajal to be banned for the Champions League semi-final after an off the ball incident with Jack Grealish.
Carlo Ancelotti’s side hosted the current Premier League leaders at the Bernabeu Stadium on Wednesday evening in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final, where Brazilian international Vinicius Junior opened the scoring with a stunning first half strike.
Los Blancos looked as if they might be able to frustrate City as the game went on, possibly even doubling their lead as the likes of Rodrygo and Karim Benzema pushed for a second.
However, they eventually relinquished their lead after Kevin De Bruyne dragged his side back into the fixture with thunderous first time effort which flew past his international teammate Thibaut Courtois.
Aside from the quality of goals being scored during the fixture, the game itself was slightly fiery given the severity of the clash with several harsh challenges coming in from both teams, With a specific reference to the match-up down the left-wing which saw Grealish come up against Carvajal.
The two faced off on several occasions and it looked as if it was about to come to blows after the Madrid defender ushered the ball out of play for a goal-kick before appearing to shove the City playmaker into the advertising boards in the process. Grealish went on to go hurtling into the board, being left in a heap on the floor shortly after.
City fans are now calling for Carvajal to be banned for the second leg, despite not receiving a booking for the off the ball incident involving Grealish.
Here is what some fans have had to say:
@Oreegaami: If you EVER play soccer, you’ll know this is PAINFUL for the player, CRUEL & MALICIOUS from Carvajal & ABSOLUTELY UNNECESSARY.
@11gracie: Didn’t know we’re playing rugby now
@VaderRSA: No card?
@RichardAmofa: Should be a 10 game ban minimum for players who barge opponents off the pitch like this. Can’t stress how dangerous this is. Poor from Carvajal.
@wright75: Absolute disgrace from Carvajal. Cheat. Things like that should warrant a ban
@paulwradio: Dani Carvajal is an utter embarassment & if there is such a thing as karma he’s due a yellow or a red.
If Eveliina Summanen got a two game ban for simulation that Carvajal mess is worth five.
