Jack Grealish believes there 'would have only been one winner' should Manchester City have taken Liverpool to extra time during Saturday's FA Cup semi-final at Wembley.
Slow out the blocks and sloppy in possession, Pep Guardiola's side were punished for an uncharacteristically poor opening 45 minutes as the Reds stormed into a three-goal lead at the break. Goals from Ibrahima Konate and Sadio Mane (2) were nothing more than Liverpool deserved for all their dominance, which the Sky Blues struggled to handle.
But the Sky Blues issued an instant response after the interval, with Grealish scoring just 70 seconds after the restart to fuel hopes of a comeback. Bernardo Silva added a second for City in the dying embers of the match, though a third goal proved too much of an ask despite a flurry of late chances.
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Should City have forced 30 minutes of extra time against the Reds, however, Grealish is adamant that the Reds would have been knocked out of the competition due to the momentum possessed by the Premier League leaders towards the end of the match.
"If we had another five minutes, we would have got that goal. If we had taken them to extra time, I think there only would have been one winner. It wasn't meant to be, but we still have the Champions League and Premier League to play for. We need to pick ourselves up and get back on track," he told mancity.com after the full-time whistle.
"We started slow. The whole of the first half, Liverpool were on top whether that would be pressing, possession and the scoreline as well. For us, it was not an ideal first half and I think that cost us in the end. We didn't have the first half we wanted to. We came in at half-time, the manager made a few changes and I think we were much better for it in the second half. In the end, it was just too little too late."
Refusing to let Liverpool's triumph have too much of a negative impact, City's club-record signing is optimistic they can pip Jurgen Klopp's men to both the Champions League and Premier League this campaign.
"You just go in there and look at the talent and experience we have in that dressing room and I don't think anyone else in the league has a dressing room like it," said the former Aston Villa captain. "Our performances, the competitions we're in and where we are in the league speaks for itself. Hopefully, by the end of the season, we will have the Premier League and Champions League."
