Every single one of Manchester City’s players impressed against Liverpool last weekend, but the performance of John Stones arguably raised eyebrows the most.
Stones started on the right of City’s back four in the 4-1 defeat of Liverpool at the Etihad Stadium, but as has been standard for City fullbacks this season, he inverted into midfield whenever City were in possession.
While the 28-year-old has played the role before, Saturday felt like a milestone. He looked serenely comfortable playing in midfield against one of the best pressing sides in the world, a far cry from his nervy fullback and midfield forays late last season.
In terms of his press resistance, awareness, movement and passing vision, Stones looked like he’d been playing in the heart of City’s midfield for years.
Stones’ display was a credit to both his and Pep Guardiola’s hard work, but it should perhaps come as no surprise.
The latest data published by Opta shows that Stones is the best passer in the whole of the Premier League, and not just in one metric.
This season the England international has completed 1,075 of 1,148 attempted passes, with his 93.6% pass completion higher than any other Premier League player.
City teammates Manuel Akanji, Rico Lewis, Ruben Dias and Aymeric Laporte make up the rest of the Premier League top five.
Central defenders in possession-based sides like City often have high pass-completion rates, as many of their passes tend to be low-risk.
However, Stones is excelling when under pressure too. He has completed 91% (691 out of 759) of his passes with an opponent in close proximity, again the best of any Premier League player this season.
Add to that the fact that Stones (again) leads the league in terms of forward passes completed under high pressure (75.6%) and it’s clear to see why he is such an important player for Guardiola’s side.
And, for good measure, here’s another stat: Stones has lost possession of the ball with just 6.7% of his touches this season in the Premier League – 87 out of 1,300 – the lowest rate of any player with more than 150 touches.
While few City fans ever imagined Stones spraying balls around from a midfield role, Guardiola certainly did.
“I thought when I arrived that he has the quality to play there,” Pep said after Saturday’s win.
“It is different when you see all the game in front of you. In that position he is surrounded from Henderson, Salah, Fabinho, Elliott, Gakpo.
“He is surrounded like a bubble. To play there is not really easy. You have to have a lot of personality.”
Simply put, Stones has been the best ball-playing defender in the Premier League this season. That he’s played a number of games in midfield makes the feat even more impressive.
