Manchester City made it 10 wins on the bounce yesterday against Leicester City, and it was another fine outing for John Stones.
Pep Guardiola’s side have got to within three points of Arsenal, beating the Foxes 3-1 at the Etihad Stadium.
Stones opened the scoring with a fantastic volley from the edge of the box with his left foot.
Two customary goals from Erling Haaland then gave Leicester too much to do in the second-half.
City actually almost let their lead slip in embarrassing fashion.
Former City striker Kelechi Iheanacho pounced on a mix-up between Ederson and Kalvin Phillips.
James Maddison then had a glorious chance to make it 3-2 when he went one-on-one with Ederson. The Brazilian thwarted the England international brilliantly.
Iheanacho also had another good chance to score from the edge of the box but blazed over.
In the end, City got the job done but the result was not particularly comfortable.
Earlier in the game, Guardiola took off key players in order to rest them ahead of the Champions League quarter-final second leg against Bayern Munich.
Stones was one player who only played 45 minutes yesterday. Manuel Akanji replaced him at half-time.
Stones has been playing a lot lately. So it was important for his load to be managed. He is now one of Guardiola’s most important players in that hybrid role he has been playing.
Phil Foden sends message to John Stones on Instagram after brilliant goal and display against Leicester
As is routine when City win, many of the players involved yesterday posted on Instagram.
Stones uploaded an image of him celebrating after his goal, which led to hundreds of comments from fans.
Many hailed him for his efforts, and no one summed it up better than Phil Foden, who commented ‘What a player’.
Foden, of course, is currently having to watch on from the sidelines after undergoing surgery to remove his appendix.
Many will share the England star’s view of Stones, including neutrals.
What he is doing at the moment is nothing short of amazing. To have that quality and intelligence to essentially play two positions is a serious indicator that Stones is a world-class player.
