John Stones has shared some details on what his mindset was before Manchester City’s Champions League final against Inter Milan.
After losing the 2021 final against Chelsea in Porto, the Citizens were finally crowned European champions back in June as they beat Inter 1-0 in Istanbul.
Having started and played through the majority of the game against the Italian side, the City defender has shared some insight on what he was thinking and feeling before the match.
Stones reflects on Champions League final
Speaking in a recent edition of the Official Man City Podcast, Stones had this to say about the final and what his mindset was beforehand.
He said: “I played No.8, I’d not played it before. I didn’t want what happened in Porto [in 2021] to happen again and going up to that game I was kind of cold, no real emotion.
“My missus asks if I’m excited and I say not until it’s here. I don’t want to overthink things and get too involved. Going into that, I thought I am going to give everything and whatever happens, happens. Everything fell into place.”
Looking back over the historic win in Turkey, Stones ended up completing all six of his attempted dribbles, leaving only Lionel Messi with more in a Champions League final (10 vs Juventus in 2015).
In addition to that, the Englishman won nine ground duels in total, the joint-highest in the entire City team alongside Jack Grealish.
Having delivered such an assured and composed performance in terms of his work on and off the ball in such an important game, it’s a good job that Stones went into the final with a clear and focused mind.
Moving forward, with the defender and the rest of his teammates now having the experience of getting to a Champions League final and winning it, this should hopefully help them do the same again this time around, especially from a mentality point of view.
