Manchester City enjoyed a 1-0 win over Southampton on Saturday afternoon and John Stones was one of many players who impressed, leading to praise from Pep Guardiola.
The 26-year-old was inexplicably dropped from City’s matchday squad in their 1-1 draw with West Bromwich Albion, but he was restored against the Saints and was outstanding.
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Guardiola said after the game: “Excellent. He is back. He turned his situation perfectly. He played really well, with Ruben (Dias) as well, and Kyle (Walker) and Joao (Cancelo).
“He did it himself. He is one of the first players we signed when we arrived here. He knows exactly what we have to do. He could not do it in previous years but now he has done it and he has done it himself.
“His private life is settled, he has no injuries – we are delighted because he is an incredibly nice person. His mum and dad must be so proud of what a nice person he is. His daughter has a great father.
“We are delighted. But he is just in the beginning and he has to continue.” Against Southampton, he played for 90 minutes, had 72 touches, won three aeriel duels, completed 90.3% of his 62 passes, blocked two shots, made four clearances, gave away one foul, made two interceptions and made one tackle.
Stones joined City from Everton in 2016 and has gone on to make 143 appearances in all competitions, scoring five goals with two assists. The England international was put up for sale in 2018 after falling down the pecking order to Vincent Kompany, Nicolas Otamendi and Aymeric Laporte, but he ended up staying and is finally turning things around.
Stones was on the periphery at the start of this campaign, making just one Premier League appearance in September and October, but he’s now a regular and has found some consistency. Long may that continue.