John Stones was ‘absolutely outstanding’ against Manchester United in the FA Cup final, and now looks like a season midfielder.
That is the opinion of Andy Townsend, who was speaking on talkSPORT yesterday evening.
City claimed a 2-1 win over rivals United at Wembley, with Ilkay Gundogan scoring both goals.
His first came after just 12 seconds. His second came in the second-half to give City the lead again after Bruno Fernandes equalised from the penalty spot.
Gundogan’s performance was amazing. And it prompted more desperate calls for the club to agree a new contract for him.
He’s stolen plenty of headlines. But someone else who is coming in for a fair bit of praise since the weekend is Stones.
The 28-year-old again played in that hybrid role where he moves into the midfield with Rodri when City have the ball.
And it was a fantastic display from him, finishing the game with 37/42 passes completed (88%).
Townsend said: “John Stones at the weekend, I thought, was absolutely outstanding. I understand people saying Gundogan was the man of the match.
“But I thought Stones was actually City’s best player. He played in there like a seasoned sitting midfielder. Not someone who has just been shoehorned in there and you’re keeping your fingers crossed.
“He’s now looking in that role like somebody that can play effortlessly in that position. I thought he was absolutely outstanding.”
Former Etihad stopper Shay Given also felt that Stones was City’s best player on Saturday.
John Stones continues to wow for Manchester City in hybrid role
Stones’ performance against United was just exceptional, and almost the end product of someone who has been working hard to nail down a new responsibility over the last couple of months.
The £50 million star was just phenomenal in there alongside Rodri and United’s midfielder just couldn’t get near him.
Gundogan is rightly getting many plaudits for his two goals and overall performance.
But Stones was just as good as the German, if not slightly better.
Hopefully, City fans will see another barnstorming display from him on Saturday in the Champions League final against Inter.
