Jack Grealish Shines as Barcelona Edges Man City on Penalties in Pre-Season Thriller

Jack Grealish pledged to make up for his struggles last season by hitting the ground running ahead of Manchester City's new campaign. True to his word, Grealish delivered a stunning display in a thrilling 2-2 draw with Barcelona, which ended in a 4-1 penalty shootout victory for the Catalan side.

The pre-season friendly in Orlando was delayed by thunder and lightning, but Grealish provided the electricity on the pitch, helping City come from behind twice against a young and daring Barcelona side. This match marked the debut of Hansi Flick as Barcelona's coach, who was without most of his first-team regulars. Despite this, Pau Victor gave Barcelona the lead midway through the first half after a flowing passing move. City's 19-year-old Nico O'Reilly equalized with help from Grealish, but Barcelona quickly responded with a goal from Pablo Torre, capitalizing on sloppy goalkeeping by Ederson.

Ederson's performance on this US tour has been shaky, fueling speculation about a possible transfer to Saudi Arabia. However, Grealish took matters into his own hands, scoring his first goal since December to equalize in the second half. The match had to be settled on penalties, where Barcelona emerged victorious after Kalvin Phillips and Jacob Wright missed their spot-kicks, leaving City winless in three games on their US tour.

Despite the result, these pre-season tours are more about building momentum than winning matches. If Grealish can maintain the spark he showed against Barcelona, it will be time well spent for City.

WINNER: Jack Grealish Jack Grealish had a point to prove after lackluster performances against Celtic and Milan. He was City's standout player against Barcelona, starting the game with a blistering move in collaboration with Kalvin Phillips. Although he missed the target, his determination to make an impact was evident. Grealish played a crucial role in City's first equalizer, patiently holding up the ball and assisting Josko Gvardiol, who then set up Nico O'Reilly.

Wearing the captain's armband in the second half, Grealish capped off his resurgent performance by scoring City's second goal after linking up with Mateo Kovacic. His efforts earned him an enthusiastic pat on the back from Guardiola, who had warned him against repeating last season's underwhelming form. Grealish seems to have taken his manager's advice to heart.

LOSER: Ghost Goal Farce While VAR may not be universally popular among football fans, the need for goal-line technology at all levels was underscored when Erling Haaland was denied a clear goal in the first half. The striker's shot clearly crossed the line, but the MLS referee Timothy Ford did not notice, and there was no VAR or goal-line technology to assist.

Barcelona knows the importance of goal-line technology firsthand, having experienced similar incidents in La Liga. Lamine Yamal was denied a goal against Real Madrid in last season's Clasico, affecting the title race, and Lionel Messi was once denied a goal against Valencia due to the lack of the technology.

Manchester City can be grateful that goal-line technology has been in use in the Premier League since 2013. This blatant error only occurred in a friendly, highlighting the necessity of such technology in competitive matches.