John Stones identifies Man City quality that should worry Liverpool FC and Arsenal

John Stones identifies Man City quality that should worry Liverpool FC and Arsenal

Manchester City edged past Bournemouth in the Premier League to move a point behind Liverpool at the top of the table

 

Manchester City had to withstand pressure at Bournemouth to defend their narrow lead and earn three vital points in the Premier League title race – and John Stones said the hard-fought win reminded him of the games that led the Blues to the treble last season.

 

 

City won their game in hand over Liverpool to move to within a point of the Premier League leaders, and still a point ahead of Arsenal. The top three have now all played 26 games.

 

At Bournemouth, City were again guilty of wasting chances and have only scored once in each of their last three games. But back-to-back 1-0 wins and two vital clean sheets prompted Pep Guardiola to call his side ‘Supermen’ for their ability to dig deep amid fatigue and injury problems – something Stones echoed after the win at the Vitality Stadium.

 

Asked by City media about the excitement of competing for trophies at the business-end of the season, Stones’ response compared the narrow win at Bournemouth to the hard-fought victories that City produced at the same point last season en-route to the treble.

 

 

“That’s what we’re all here for,” Stones said of the prospect of winning more titles. “It’s what everyone wants us to do, and what we want to try and recreate what we did last season. And that’s still possible.

 

“And games like today is one of the reasons why we made that possible last season. So we go to the next game and have the same focus and try and do the same thing, get another win, and move to the next stage. With the team that we’ve got, the squad that we’ve got I’m sure we can do it.”

 

Even if performances are still to be perfected, especially in attack, Stones believes City are at their best when they have a clear mindset and focus solely on themselves. Asked by Sky Sports if results matter more than performances at this stage of the season, Stones offered a slightly different opinion.

 

“I always feel that if we perform well, we get something good from the game. That’s something that has happened over the eight years I’ve been here,” he said.

 

 

“The manager wants us to play and not change our style and that’s why we’ve been successful. Winning and keeping clean sheets is massive, especially in this period of the season. To win 1-0 and keep a clean sheet against such a difficult side is pleasing.

 

“We have to keep taking it game by game, focus all our energy on what’s in front of us, not get ahead of ourselves. Keep doing what we’re doing, keep focussing on ourselves. That’s our biggest quality, staying in our own lane and focussing on what we can do.”

 

After taking on Luton in the FA Cup this week, City begin a tricky five-game run in the Premier League when they face a Manchester derby against United, travel to Anfield to take on Liverpool, welcome Arsenal to the Etihad, and face tricky assignments against Brighton and Aston Villa – along with the Champions League last-16 second leg against FC Copenhagen.

 

 

But Stones insists City will ignore the bigger picture, and also what Liverpool and Arsenal do in their respective games. Pointing to City’s experience in these situations, Stones said: “It’s the pressure we thrive off. the other teams do as well. For us it’s focussing on ourselves and every game is a final, winning every game.

 

“Getting points, taking as much as we can from the game. Moving to the next one. It’s thick and fast, have to perform well, everyone is involved in every game. We have to recover well.”