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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Sport
Joe Bray

Jack Grealish names the trophy Man City players are prioritising this year

Manchester City players have their eyes set on the Champions League more than any other trophy, as they prepare for their quarter-final second leg with Atletico Madrid.

City take a well-earned 1-0 win into the second leg after a dominant win at the Etihad last week, restricting a very defensive Atletico side to no shots in the game. Since then, City have kept their Premier League lead over Liverpool with an entertaining 2-2 draw on Sunday, and keep their chances of a quadruple alive.

According to Jack Grealish, though, the players in the dressing room would prefer to win the Champions League as it remains the title that everyone but Scott Carson has not won.

ALSO READ: Man City extra games are helping them in the Premier League title race

Reflecting on his first season in the Champions League, Grealish admitted there is a greater desire among his teammates to go further in the Champions League than last season's final defeat. He told reporters: "Most of the lads here have won everything, numerous times as well, so I think that’s the one that everyone wants this year.

"It’s brilliant if we can go and win every competition that we’re in. But that being one that we haven’t won yet, that’s what we have our eyes on."

Grealish also opened up on a feature of his that often gets plenty of attention - his calves. "‘I actually don’t do anything," he said of any extra work he might give his legs in the gym, and his trademark low socks and small shinpads.

"It’s just something that runs in the family. My grandad always had big calves when he used to play football. But I don’t do any calf exercises or calf routines in the gym or anything. Honestly, it’s just something that I’ve had since I was young.

"I think I was about 14 or 15 and we were sponsored by Macron at Aston Villa, and the socks used to shrink in the wash. In training, obviously, I couldn’t get them over my calves because the socks were so small. So I started wearing them below my calves in training - and that season I ended up playing really well.

"So then I started wearing my socks below my calves in games as well. It was just something that stuck because I’d had such a good season."

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