Grealish was once again an instrumental figure in the 4-1 win on Saturday, with a goal and assist just rewards for his efforts on the south coast.
And Dickov, reflecting on the winger’s performance as part of our Matchday Live coverage, wasn’t surprised by the performance given the England international’s progression this season.
“Since the World Cup I think, arguably, he’s [Grealish] been our best player,” said Dickov.
“I was really impressed with Riyad, we all know the quality he’s got, but through the form of Phil Foden he [Mahrez] hadn’t really been getting his chance. He was so hungry when he came in in the game last week and was excellent.
“But Jack, people keep saying about his numbers, he doesn’t bother about that. Trent Alexander [Arnold] didn’t know what to do with him. Every time he got the ball, just so direct and turning people inside out,” Dickov explained.
Dickov went on to discuss the 27-year-olds performance in our 4-1 win over Liverpool last weekend in greater detail, highlighting how key he was in turning the game around.
At one end, Grealish tracked back to deny Mohamed Salah from having a clear shot on goal to then provide the assist for City’s first goal scored by Julian Alvarez.
“It’s hunger, determination as well,” Dickov continued.
“60 seconds later from doing that, he’s got his reward from stopping the goal and then getting the assist. He at the minute is one of the best players, not just in our team but in the Premier League.”
The former City forward also spoke about the change of mindset for Grealish since his first season at City, when he scored three goals and tallied three assists.
In the 2022/23 campaign, he has almost doubled both with five goals and six assists to his name with nine league games remaining.
“I think he feels he is one of the main men in the team now whereas when he first came last season he was looking at Kevin [De Bruyne] and other players in the team and thinking that’s the level I need to get to,” said Dickov.
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“I think he’s at that level now and he’s become such an important player for us.
“I spoke to him down at the Bristol City game after the game and he was saying that it just feels that Pep [Guardiola] really trusts him now and that’s done wonders for him.”
Dickov believes both Grealish and City are reaping the rewards of Pep Guardiola’s trust in the winger as City look ahead to crucial fixtures in the Premier League as well as the FA Cup semi-final against Sheffield United. But first we turn our attention to the home leg of our semi-finals against Bayern Munich which is scheduled for a 20:00 (UK) kick-off at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday 11 April.
