Manchester City came from a goal down against Aston Villa to win 2-1, but they had to do it without John Stones. The 26-year-old was sent off for a challenge on Jacob Ramsey, having also been culpable for City conceding the opening goal, so it wasn’t a good day at the office.
Stones got off to a bad start by misjudging a through ball to Ollie Watkins that he fed to John McGinn for the opening goal. Then he was given a straight red card for a high challenge on Ramsey after VAR reviewed the decision. Initially, Stones was booked for the foul.
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When Stones has a stinker of a game he really has the worst smh. Tbh that was a red card tackle roght there. Smh
— Neil (@iamMacjay) April 21, 2021
John Stones had a stinker right there
— natee (@nateew97) April 21, 2021
43 minute stinker from Stones today, hopefully his confidence doesn’t drop after that performance
— Jack (@jackcainus) April 21, 2021
Stones at fault for the goal and then gets a red with a horrendous challenge..
Shocking performance..
— MCFC Vision (@MCFC_Vision) April 21, 2021
Stones slowly going back to his old self…made two horrendous mistakes
— Teboho The Cityzen (@Ke_Teboho) April 21, 2021
John Stones purple patch is over. Back to making crucial mistake every game.
— RandomGloryHunter007 (@FootyFan_007) April 21, 2021
John stones is back to making mistakes. He first gave away the goal and then received a red card for serious foul play. #JohnStones #MCIAVL
— Monarch (@MallickMonarch) April 21, 2021
John Stones’ day has been awful. Mistake leading to a goal and then a red card. He’s clearly taking after David Luiz.
— Jacob (@j4cob1894) April 21, 2021
Against Villa, Stones played for 44 minutes, had 34 touches, completed 93.8% of his 32 passes, gave away one foul that he was sent off for and made one clearance. His dismissal forced Pep Guardiola to substitute Gabriel Jesus for Aymeric Laporte, but City controlled the second half with 10 men.
The 26-year-old has made 30 appearances in all competitions this season, scoring five goals. Since returning to the first-team in November, Stones has been in fine form for City, but he’s looked human of late. The Sky Blues should win the Premier League title, but Stones’ latest error against Villa will be a worry ahead of their Champions League semi-final and England’s European Championships.
In other news, some fans say ‘incredible’ Man City man is an ‘insane talent’