Manchester City player Jack Grealish reacts and delivers a shocking message to his teammate Mateo Kovacic after Man City’s 2-0 win against Chelsea on Sunday

Mateo Kovacic couldn’t have asked for a better start to the season for Manchester City. He scored a goal and played a key role in their 2-0 win over Chelsea, his old team. Pep Guardiola put Kovacic in a single pivot position for most of the game, giving him the job of filling in for Rodri when he wasn’t available.

The Manchester City midfielder jumped right into the part, winning duels, breaking the lines when he had the ball in the middle of the field, and often carrying the ball so well that he skipped past the other team. Sofascore says that the 30-year-old completed 65 of the 67 passes he tried against Chelsea, even though he took risks when he had the ball. Rodri would have been proud of that number.

Kovacic finished off his return to Stamford Bridge with a beautiful goal. Even though it was such a great goal, he chose not to celebrate out of respect for the team that used to hire him.
Geoff Grealish praises Kovacic’s performance for Man City against Chelsea The Croatian player played as well in the middle of the field as anyone could in the 2024–2025 Premier League season.

As shown by his performance against Chelsea, he seems to have learned more about how to play in a deeper role since failing as a holding midfielder in City’s 2-1 loss to Wolves last season.

It looks like Rodri, who used to work for Inter Milan, will have to play as a defensive midfielder again if he stays on the bench against Ipswich Town on Saturday. As Jack Grealish commented on Kovacic’s Instagram post after the game to enjoy Manchester City’s win over Chelsea, Kovacic was praised.

The man worth £100 million wrote, “What a player,” and then added an emoji of hands raised. It’s great to see gentle Mateo Kovacic get the praise he deserves.

People didn’t pay much attention to Kovacic’s great play in his first season with City. Maybe the former Real Madrid midfielder’s quiet personality or the fact that some people saw him as a successor to club star Ilkay Gundogan played a part in this.

Kovacic mostly did a great job of settling in, and he was one of the Sky Blues’ most reliable players, especially as the season came to a close.

The well-known playmaker seems to have gained another skill by learning how to play as a number six. Man City might have lost points if Kovacic couldn’t have played like Rodri did.

On the other hand, the experienced player did, and it’s great to see him getting praise from top players like Grealish.