Jack Grealish makes Aston Villa joke as Man City and Liverpool title destiny to be settled next week

Jack Grealish joked that Manchester City’s potential title decider ‘just had be against Aston Villa’, following the 2-2 draw with West Ham United on Sunday.

The champions came from two goals behind to grab a huge point at the London Stadium, with Grealish’s strike and an own-goal from Vladimir Coufal ensured City snatched a draw.

It leaves City four points clear at the top of the table, although Liverpool could reduce that during the week when they face Southampton.

Assuming Jurgen Klopp’s men avoid defeat at St Mary’s on Tuesday night, the title will be decided on the final day of the season when City play Villa at the same time as Liverpool host Wolverhampton Wanderers.

It means Grealish, who left the Villans last summer, could win the title against his boyhood club next Sunday.

“I can’t wait. It’s going to be a great day,” the 26-year-old told Sky Sports after the draw with West Ham.

“It just had to be against Aston Villa, didn’t it? It couldn’t have been any other game,” he added with a chuckle.

“But that doesn’t matter. It’s not about me; it doesn’t matter who we play against. It’s about the team and about the club. We’re going to go out there and try and get all three points.

“It’s going to be different for me, I’ve never had that before, I’ve never had a game on the last day to win a title. I’m looking forward to it.”

A timely return to goalscoring

Grealish’s 49th minute goal against the Hammers managed to turn the tide of the game, with City dominating after the strike deflected into the net off Craig Dawson.

It was just the third league goal the England international has netted this term, and a first since December, a fact which clearly isn’t lost on the winger.

“It’s about time, wasn’t it?” Grealish joked. “The manager said to me at half-time to keep getting in the box, hit the target.

“I’ve hit the target and it’s managed to go in, it’s deflected. I’ve managed to score quite a few goals at this ground now. Hopefully I can start playing here more often.”

A message from the editor:

Thank you for reading. BirminghamWorld is Birmingham’s latest news website, championing everything that is great about our city - reporting on news, lifestyle and sport. Find out more about who’s who in the team, and our editorial values. We want to start a community among our readers, so please follow us on Facebook,Twitter and Instagram, and keep the conversation going.