Jack Grealish defends Man City goal record after finally ending Premier League drought against Leicester on 'difficult day' as he dedicates strike to late brother on 25th anniversary of his death

Grealish scored for the first time in the Premier League since December 2023 when he netted in the second minute of City's 2-0 win over Leicester on Wednesday. The attacker explained that he dedicated the strike to his younger brother Keelan, who died in 2000 from sudden infant death syndrome aged just nine months. Grealish was aged four at the time.

"It was a nice day because my little brother passed away 25 years ago today," Grealish said. "This day is always hard in the family but I was happy to score. My mum and dad were here. This day is always difficult in the family. So to score and to win was brilliant."

Grealish was happy to score but was keen to point out that his game is about more than goals and assists. He has scored 17 goals in all competitions since his £100 million ($130m) move from Aston Villa in 2021. "I know myself that I could score more but I know I give a lot more than just scoring. My highest ever tally in goals is about eight in a season," he explained. "I was never brought here to score 20 or 30 goals a season. I think even when I was at Villa the year before I was brought here I scored six goals. Listen, I’ve never been one of these people who score constantly. Obviously I’d love to score, there’s not many better feelings. But I feel like I offer a lot more to the team than just scoring."

The 29-year-old also revealed he was hugely disappointed not to have started in City's FA Cup quarter-final tie at Bournemouth on Sunday, which made him extra determined to make the most of getting in the line-up against Leicester. He said: "I wanted the chance to play. I’ve only started in the FA Cup in 2025. As you can imagine I was devastated to not play on the weekend as I’d played in every other round. So I was so disappointed but I came on and I feel like I played well. I feel like I deserved to play tonight. I was just happy. I think this season I’ve not been at my best, even last season. But I feel like even when I’ve played, especially in 2025, I’ve only started three or four games, I’ve not started in the Premier League since before Christmas. But yeah, I was happy that I started tonight and happy to score."

City face local rivals Manchester United in the derby on Sunday, hoping to avenge their dramatic 2-1 defeat to the Red Devils earlier this season.