Manchester City won the first Champions League in its history against Inter Milan (1-0) on Saturday, achieving a hat-trick with the Premier League and the FA Cup. Among the great successes of the Cityzens season, the tactical repositioning of John Stones in midfield. A masterstroke from Pep Guardiola.
It wasn’t Manchester City’s best performance this season. But in the end, the Grail: a first crown in the Champions League for the club, thanks to its 1-0 victory against Inter Milan on Saturday evening in the final. But in this match, there was the confirmation of one of the great inspirations of Pep Guardiola this season, with the repositioning of John Stones.
The English defender had so often been criticized for his careless mistakes, at club and national level. Here he is now midfielder, in 6-8, to switch from a more defensive role when the Skyblues do not have the ball to a role of raiser in the possession phase. Scratcher, passer or even master at play sometimes… an astonishing profile in which he will have excelled this season.
“This new role? I love it”
“I played more like a number 8 today, which I love. Obviously I’m still learning. I don’t think I’m at my best yet in this role but I gave everything I had. , I took the ball as much as I could, I tried to start things”, noted John Stones on BT Sport after the coronation of his team.
Last April, when Manchester City had yet to seal their hat-trick, the England international confided on this development: “The manager puts me in this position because he sees what I can do in training. I want to move the ball around for the team and put myself in position. It worked well until now and I hope it will continue to improve. I hope it will continue to improve. It can only do me good to add these qualities and this understanding of the game in different positions on the pitch. I really like it and I think it’s paying off.”
A new 3-2-4-1 scheme
After several outstanding seasons during which his great trick was at the level of the work of his wingers returning inside to bring the surplus in the center and overwhelm the opponent, Pep Guardiola has found a new pattern this season. Formerly not a fan of formulas with three defenders, here he is turned to a formula in 3-2-4-1, with sides a notch higher and Stones to bring the surplus in the middle.
In fact, Rodri can focus more on the sentry post to support the back-three if necessary, when Kevin De Bruyne and Ilkay Gundogan find themselves a little more free from recovery and scratching tasks. The two can thus project themselves even more in the axis to serve the wingers (often Bernardo Silva and Jack Grealish) but also the other novelty of the season: a real 9, Erling Haaland. The surplus, once brought by the wingers, is now lower. This allows the attackers to stay stretched on the ground and therefore to stretch the opposing defense with them.
This hybrid role, half-defender half-midfielder, John Stones has discovered in recent months. And this attempt, crowned with success, seems to suit him as much as it helps the team to progress. Especially since it also allows Manchester City to be able to withstand enemy counter-attacks more easily, since the defensive curtain is reinforced … without removing the offensive aspect. An ideal two-in-one.
It is also a solution to better fight one-on-one. “I learned that when you play against players like Saka, Vinicius, Martinelli, Salah or even Mané in the past, you need real defenders to win one-on-one duels”, explained Pep Guardiola in last May. A John Stones in this role is both one more defender… and one more raiser, depending on whether you have the ball or not.
“He’s an incredible player. Stones has this quality to pass the ball, to arrive in an attacking position by controlling the game”, praised Pep Guardiola this week. His idea will undoubtedly make children. At Barça, for example, Xavi tried the same thing with Eric Garcia, with rather interesting results. After 4-3-3 or three-man defenses, this may be the new tactical trend for the coming months.