Jack Grealish was at the centre of a half-time argument between Manchester City and Aston Villa players at Villa Park.City trailed at the break as their poor form continued in the Midlands, with Grealish starting his first game back at his former home four years after leaving in a £100m deal. He was booed with every touch of the ball in a difficult first half for City, but his physical treatment had tempted Villa full back Matty Cash into a booking after a series of late fouls.As the referee blew his whistle for half-time, Grealish raced to the officials to complain about something – either the regular fouling or the timing of his whistle. Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez then ran towards the City man to push him away, earning the Argentine a yellow card.Erling Haaland got involved and pushed Martinez, before Grealish and Ezri Konsa were in an animated chat on the way back to the tunnel in the far corner of Villa Park. A home coach also looked to aim some words in Grealish’s direction as the City no.10 was escorted to the dressing room by security staff.
City trailed 1-0 at the break with Jhon Duran scoring early in the half for the home side. Pep Guardiola made a change at the break, replacing John Stones with Kyle Walker.Later, Manchester Evening News journalist Simon Bajkowski explained what happened between them: “A bit of aggression after the first half. Grealish complains to the referee, Martínez attacks and pushes Grealish, Haaland pushes Emiliano, and the referee pulls out his yellow card. Martínez and Jack were still arguing.”
“It would have been good if Manchester City had directed some of that aggression into their football.”Manchester City were unable to secure a win against Aston Villa. The Lions earned three points, defeating the reigning Premier League champions 2-1.
The match was also filled with emotional moments. At the end of the first half, Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez pushed Jack Grealish.
The cameras captured the incident, which did not go unnoticed by the referee, Peter Banks, who issued a yellow card to the Argentine.
The argument continued as they entered the tunnel. The winger continued his verbal exchange with the goalkeeper.