Jack Grealish’s iconic moments for Aston Villa and England

Samuel Wright
6 August 2021

Raheem Sterling and Jack Grealish celebrate England's winner against Czech Republic Euro 2020 Jun21

Manchester City's new signing can look back on a host of memorable moments from his time at Villa Park - as he bids farewell to his boyhood club.

Manchester City and England midfielder Jack Grealish was the name on everyone's lips during Euro 2020.

After another standout campaign at club level, he was the player everyone wanted to see in the starting line-up as England grinded their way to the final of the European Championship.

Used sparingly by Gareth Southgate, Grealish's market value nevertheless soared, and Manchester City eventually opened their wallet to splash a staggering £100million on the 25-year-old.

But while he has no major trophies from his time with both Villa and England, he has got a host of iconic moments. Planet Sport takes a look back at just a few.

Starring in FA Cup semi-final victory over Liverpool

A teenage Grealish was selected in Aston Villa's starting line-up for their FA Cup semi-final against Liverpool at Wembley on April 19, 2015 and he certainly rose to the occasion.

Grealish put in a stellar performance and even assisted the winning goal which took Villa to their first FA Cup final in 15 years.

It was a display that showed glimpses of the player he would go on to become.

First-ever Aston Villa goal

Despite the 2015/2016 campaign being one that Grealish and Villa fans would love to wipe from their memories, it was also the one where the Birmingham-born midfielder netted his first goal for the club.

The goal came away to the team who went on to win the Premier League that season, Leicester City, and it is fair to say, it was a beauty.

With the ball falling to the midfielder just outside the 18-yard box, he made no mistake in curling a delightful effort into the far corner of the net.

Superb volley vs Derby County

What a magnificent strike this was. With Villa already 3-0 up against Frank Lampard's Derby County, Glenn Whelan's corner picked out an unmarked Grealish on the edge of the 18-yard box and what followed was one of the most sweetly struck volleys you will ever see.

A goal that was utterly world class and simply unstoppable.

Scoring the winner against local rivals Birmingham City

March 10, 2019 will go down as one of the most eventful days of Grealish's life. In the first half of the game at St Andrew's, in one of the most bizarre incidents seen on a pitch, he was attacked from behind by a Birmingham City fan.

Thankfully, Grealish was able to continue the match and in the 67th minute he had the last laugh when his low left-footed strike turned out to be the winner.

Having grown up as a Villa fan, it was a dream come true for Grealish and one he will most certainly never forget.

Captaining Aston Villa to promotion back to the Premier League

Grealish took over the captaincy of Villa in March 2019 and it coincided with the team going on a club-record 10-match winning streak which earned them a place in the Championship play-offs.

Villa defeated Midlands rivals West Bromwich Albion via penalty shootout in the semi-final before overcoming Derby County in the final courtesy of a 2-1 win at Wembley.

It sealed their return to the top-flight of English soccer for the first time in three years and without Grealish's passion and leadership, it may never have happened.

Stunning goal at Old Trafford

On December 1, 2019, Villa travelled to Old Trafford to take on Manchester United in the Premier League.

This was a game where Grealish netted one of the greatest goals of his career. A magnificent curling effort which flew past David de Gea and nestled into the top corner of the net.

Scoring the goal to keep Aston Villa in the Premier League

On the final day of the 2019/2020 Premier League campaign, Villa travelled to West Ham United knowing they had to equal or better Watford's result in order to remain in the division.

With six minutes remaining, Grealish scored to put his team 1-0 up.

The Hammers did go on to equalise with a goal that ironically deflected in off the Villa skipper, but it mattered little as Watford had gone down to a 3-2 loss at Arsenal.

He was also voted as Villa's Player of the Season for 2019/2020 by both the supporters and fellow players to underline his importance to their escape.

First England call-up

Grealish was called up to the England squad for the very first time at the age of 24 on August 31, 2020.

However, his most impressive display for the Three Lions was in their 3-0 victory over Wales at Wembley on October 8 of the same year. Grealish put in a fine all-round display and even assisted the opening goal for Dominic Calvert-Lewin.

Magnificent display vs Liverpool

This has to be one of the greatest individual performances in Premier League history. Villa welcomed league champions Liverpool to Villa Park on October 4, 2020, in a game that not many people fancied them to win.

However, not only did they come out on top, they won the match 7-2 with Grealish the star of the show. Astonishingly, he contributed to five of their seven goals, scoring two and assisting three.