Jeremy Doku and Matheus Nunes will take the glory, but the 105-touch hero was Man City’s true standout against Watford.

Manchester City barely made it past Watford in their Carabao Cup clash, winning 2-1 despite a late scare.

Pep Guardiola hoped expecting a peaceful and uneventful meeting for Manchester City, coming off a contentious draw with Arsenal.

City dominated throughout 85 minutes, scoring two goals in the first half through Jeremy Doku and Matheus Nunes.

Watford had a number of threatening counterattack and were unlucky to have a goal disallowed for a minor foul, but the Blues were comfortable overall.

City’s defense, spearheaded by debutant 16-year-old Kaden Braithwaite, remained solid despite Nunes’ potential for two more goals and Savinho’s missed shot.

That was until the 85th minute, when Tom Ince looped in the ball to score with his team’s first attempt on goal.

City were made to pay for their poor finishing, having to sweat out a tense closing stretch in which many passes were misplaced.

They held on for the win, and Doku and Nunes will undoubtedly receive praise for their key goals.

The stadium speaker even hailed Nunes as the person of the Match, but there was one person who deserved it more.

Jack Grealish, who received the top player rating from MCN, has been a star for City this season, particularly against Watford.

Jack Grealish’s numbers against Watford are absolutely excellent.

Grealish returned to the starting lineup against Watford and had another impressive performance, building on his great start to the season.

The 29-year-old set up the first goal with a well-weighted pass to Doku and was unlucky not to score himself when a late attempt was saved.

His numbers enhance an already visually appealing performance.

Grealish had 105 touches on the ball, registering 67 correct passes (86% accuracy), the most successful dribbles in the match (six), four opportunities created, and ten touches in the opponents’ box.

Grealish’s performance was hugely significant, since he was at the heart of practically every City assault.

But what made his performance even greater is what he performed without the ball. Grealish won the most ground duels in the game, retrieved the ball three times, and battled tirelessly in the opposite way when Watford countered.

Grealish maintained his calm in the last seconds as fear spread across the side, intercepting a dangerous last-ditch cross into the box and clearing the danger.

Jack Grealish appears to be returning to his best form.

A solid performance against a Championship team isn’t particularly noteworthy on its own, but it comes after a streak of outstanding performances from Grealish.

He may not have had any goals or assists until tonight, but he has been lot more active in setting up play and initiating assaults.

Grealish appears to have regained his confidence and is once again attacking full-backs, using his bag of tricks to overcome problems while delighting spectators.

Perhaps he has been allowed greater freedom to express himself on the ball, since he has not been this skilled since his early days at City. Perhaps since his Aston Villa days.

Despite being stranded outside Arsenal’s area for 45 minutes, Greaish seized the lead in securing an equalizer in the last stages of the match.

He took a daring short corner and then drove into the box, avoiding a tackle and placing the ball in a dangerous position to be turned home.

Grealish was the spark, and it appears that he may now have his back.

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