Jack Grealish and Erling Haaland used their social media presence to praise midfielder Kalvin Phillips.
Phillips scored his first goal for Manchester City as Pep Guardiola’s side beat Red Star Belgrade 3-2 in their Wednesday night Champions League clash.
Was Phillips saying goodbye to the City faithful? Credit: Getty
Youngsters Micah Hamilton and Oscar Bobb also netted on the night, prior to Phillips’ penalty five minutes from time.
The 28-year-old made just his second start for the Sky Blues as he helped his side maintain their 100 per cent record in the Champions League this season in what is their defence of the trophy.
Phillips’ muted celebration after converting his penalty seemed to reflect his position within the squad.
He could be seen waving and blowing kisses to the travelling Man City fans inside the stadium after Phil Foden allowed his teammate to take the spot kick.
It prompted suggestions that the former Leeds midfielder could have been hinting he is leaving the club when the transfer window opens.
Grealish later took to Instagram, sharing a post from Man City’s feed showing Phillips’ reaction, tagging the player, and adding three blue hearts.
Haaland, who is currently out injured, watched the game at home and also posted a picture of Phillips with a heart emoji.
“He’s an incredibly good taker,” Guardiola said post-match lavishing praise on Phillips.
Grealish responded after it looked as though Phillips was saying his goodbyesCredit: IG @jackgrealish
Haaland has since praised the midfielder after he netted from the penalty spotCredit: IG @erling.haaland
“I know Phil [Foden] had ambitions to do it but Kalvin is an incredible penalty taker.
“The game was not over and for his confidence… it was a difficult game because they made man-to-man so aggressive, a lot of interruptions and so many fouls. it was not easy to play comfortably but in the right moments we found our quality.”
Phillips has recently been linked with a move to Newcastle, Manchester United, and Juventus.
An England international, he is seeking regular game time as he eyes a place in Gareth Southgate’s squad for the 2024 European Championship in Germany.
He has won 31 caps and was a mainstay in the centre during Euro 2020 where his form for Leeds saw him partnered with Declan Rice.
He was subsequently nicknamed the ‘Yorkshire Pirlo’ but with chances limited in Manchester, has been unable to show his best form.
