Former Manchester City defender Kolo Toure was full of praise for John Stones on Saturday night, as the star helped the team beat Leicester City 3-1.
City have closed the gap on Arsenal, who dropped points by drawing 2-2 against West Ham United yesterday.
City took the lead through Stones, before Erling Haaland scored a brace to equal the Premier League for most goals in a 38-game season.
Stones only played the first-half.
With Bayern Munich next week in mind, he was taken off at the break with Manuel Akanji coming on in his place.
Stones’ goal was of the highest quality. Injured star Phil Foden was certainly impressed as he commented on Stones’ Instagram post-match.
He found the top corner with a left foot volley from the edge of the area.
And the rest of his performance was typically fantastic before he made way early.
It really is a fantastic moment right now for Stones. He has been playing this hybrid role of right-back and central midfielder and looked extremely comfortable in doing so.
At the moment, he is one of Guardiola’s most important players without question.
After the win over Leicester, Stones came in for big praise from ex-City defender Toure, who was a pundit for Sky Sports.
He said of the 28-year-old: “That was a great strike from John Stones. He is a really really good player. He’s in form at the moment, you can see the way he performs. He can play different positions because technically he is a gifted player.
“He is doing unbelievable right now. Fantastic goal from him.”
John Stones might be in the best moment of his Manchester City career, as Kolo Toure praises defender
It is difficult to recall a period when Stones has been better than he is right now for City.
He’s had purple patches before. But the difference is that now, Stones is playing in this hybrid role which requires so much more thinking.
He’s essentially playing two positions in-game, and the fact he looks so comfortable doing it is a true testament to his ability.
Toure is spot on with his assessment. Stones is simply a gifted footballer, and very much integral to this incredible City team.
