John Stones has received words of praise from the Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola after he netted twice in Sunday’s Premier win against Crystal Palace.
Stones’ heroics City record a commanding 4-0 win over the Eagles at the Etihad Stadium with Ilkay Gundogan also registering goals on the night.
Guardiola said Stones “deserves the best” as the Citizens and put in an accomplished display which saw them claim nine wins and one draw, conceding just one goal in their last 10 games.
Indeed, with Stones and Dias proving their worth, Aymeric Laporte, a star performer in recent seasons, has been limited to four league appearances this term.Injuries and losses of form have marred Stones’ time at City, and the former Everton centre-back had lost his place in the England squad after making just 16 top-flight appearances last season.
However, despite talk of a move away, Stones stayed put to turn his form around, much to the delight of Guardiola, whose side are up to second, two points behind Manchester United.
“If it’s one guy who deserves the best, it’s John. He struggled a lot but he is a fantastic human being, his parents must be so proud,” Guardiola told a news conference.
“He had personal problems and injuries in the past but at the moment he is settled well. Confidence is everything and he is confident for himself.
“Managers cannot give confidence but he started playing alongside Ruben and they play really well.”
Stones scored from both of his attempts. While his opener was a fine header from Kevin De Bruyne’s exquisite cross, his second – which came after Ilkay Gundogan had doubled City’s lead in delightful fashion – was a predatory finish after Dias’ header was saved.
The former Barnsley defender also topped City’s distribution metrics, completing 112 out of 117 attempted passes (a success rate of 95.7 per cent) – 54 of these came in Palace’s half.
With 120 touches, Stones tallied up more than any other player, four ahead of Fernandinho, while he won one of his two aerial duels. In this regard, his partnership with Dias proved particularly fruitful, with the Portugal international winning three of four aerial battles.
Stones did not have to make a single tackle, with Dias again doing the dirty work in that respect, though he did gain possession six times, behind only Fernandinho (seven) and Palace’s Andros Townsend (12).
