Jack Grealish’s Man City debut ends in defeat thanks to late Leicester penalty
As the Mexican waves started around Wembley Stadium, Pep Guardiola probably knew he needed to bring new boy Jack Grealish on for Manchester City.
The Community Shield clash in the capital needed a splash of creativity – which saw the £100m man enter the field of play with 25 minutes to play.
Grealish's arrival unfortunately didn't spring City into life, with Leicester nabbing the Community Shield spoils in the closing stages thanks to a Kelechi Iheanacho penalty.
Guardiola fielded a rogue XI for the one-off match, with Zac Steffen, Samuel Edozie and Cole Palmer all handed surprise starts from the outset.
Grealish settled for a place on the bench just days after his English-record move from Aston Villa.
But the attacking midfielder was finally called from the stands to make his first appearance for City.
Donning the number 10 shirt, Grealish strutted onto the Wembley turf to show the Premier League champions were right to spend serious cash on his signature.
Playing down the left, the 26-year-old slowly grew more accustomed to the game as City pushed to break the deadlock.
The England international showed his trademark willingness to get on the ball, running at the Leicester defence, drawing fouls along the way.
But it wasn't to be a happy debut for Grealish, with Leicester snatching the clash at the very death.
A mistake by Nathan Ake allowed Iheanacho to pounce, with the City defender fouling him in the penalty area.
The Leicester striker then stepped up and buried his spot-kick with two minutes of normal time remaining.
But for Grealish, time is on his side when it comes to winning trophies at the Etihad.
"Jack can provide for the next years, the best years after making an exceptional contribution with Aston Villa. He can get to another level with us," Guardiola said after the transfer was confirmed.
"When we could spend this money, a lot is because we could sell £60million. We sell young players from the academy and loan players for £60million and when you sell for £60million, it is possible [to spend £100m].
"We spent on him because he is 26 years old (sic), can spend the next six or seven years here and has incredible talent."
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