Jack Grealish dedicated his goal to his late brother after scoring in Manchester City’s 2-0 win over relegation-threatened Leicester on Wednesday.
The England international hit his first Premier League goal for 16 months, on his first start in the competition since last December, as City moved back into fourth with a comfortable success at the Etihad Stadium.
It came on the 25th anniversary of the death of his younger brother Keelan, who died at the age of just nine months from sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).
Grealish said on the club’s official website: ‘This day is always hard in the family, but I was happy to score.
‘My mum and dad were here. This day is always difficult in the family. So to score and to win was brilliant.’
Get personalised updates on Manchester City every day
Wake up to find news on your club in your inbox every morning with Metro’s Football Newsletter.
Sign up to our newsletter and then select your team in the link we’ll send you so we can get football news tailored to you.
Grealish has struggled for regular action this season due to the form of Jeremy Doku and Savinho.
All three of those players started against the Foxes and combined to set up Grealish’s opener after just two minutes.
Who was Jack Grealish’s brother, Keelan?
Keelan was just nine months old when he tragically died from cot death.
His elder brother Jack, who is now an established England international and commanded a transfer fee of £100 million when he joined Man City from Aston Villa, was just four at the time.
It is not the first time Jack has paid tribute to his brother after scoring a goal, having dedicated his strike in a 4-2 win over Birmingham back in 2018 to Keelan.
After that game, a fan was fined after being convicted of sending offensive communications to Jack who received a barrage of abuse.
Speaking after last night’s goal, Grealish struggled to hold back the tears, and told Sky Sports: ‘I felt like I deserved to play tonight and I was just happy. It was a nice day because my little brother passed away 25 years ago today.
‘So this day is always hard in the family. My mum and dad were here and I think this day is always difficult in the family so to score and to win is brilliant.’
City manager Pep Guardiola said: ‘Jack is an incredible human being in terms of gestures and he’s incredibly generous.
‘I didn’t know that. I can’t imagine how tough (it was) but to be with his mum and dad, his sister and all the family, it’s good.
‘He scored a goal and made a good game. I’m happy for him. I know it’s not easy when you don’t play quite regularly.’
Omar Marmoush added the second after 29 minutes and City then eased through the remainder of the game to push an ineffective Leicester, who remain 12 points off safety, closer to the drop.
Guardiola said: ‘It wasn’t easy with 10 players behind the ball in the box and we missed the third goal to be more relaxed.
‘But we didn’t concede anything until near the end and I’m pleased for a good performance.’
Guardiola also offered more clarification on the length of Erling Haaland’s absence after the Norwegian suffered an ankle injury in Sunday’s FA Cup quarter-final win at Bournemouth.
The striker has since received specialist treatment from Dr Ramon Cugat in Barcelona.
He said: ‘He saw him and we expect five to six weeks.’