John Stones - the latest invention of coach Guardiola

In the quarter-finals of the Champions League on April 11, Man City produced one of the best performances this season, crushing German giants Bayern 3-0. The game will be remembered for Rodri's left-footed slash from outside the box, a header from 1.7-meter-tall Bernardo Silva, or Erling Haaland becoming the first player in the Premier League. The Premier League scored 45 goals in all competitions in a season, breaking the record of 44 goals held by Ruud van Nistelrooy (2002-2003) and Mohamed Salah (2017-2018).

But according to the legendary Rio Ferdinand, the quality of the defense is the highlight. "Defense is a huge art that seems to be slowly disappearing from football," the former England midfielder told BT Sport. "The first thing we think of defenders these days is their ability to hold the ball, stay calm and break lines. And this is the first time we've felt City like defending since Vincent Kompany was at the top of the team. image".

Of the four main defenders against Bayern, Ruben Dias had three successful tackles and three interceptions. Nathan Ake headed the rescue three times, and Manuel Akanji won nine duels - the highest score of the match. Ake and Akanji kept the attacking pair of Bayern Serge Gnabry - Jamal Musiala well under control, as well as the duo that were substituted in the second half, Leroy Sane and Kingsley Coman.

Stones plays a more quiet role, but still shows great influence when regularly shifting from right-back to defensive midfielder and moving forward when needed. The 28-year-old's smart header helped Haaland cushion the corner to seal the victory. It was also Stones who showed strength in a dispute with Sane not long after that helped Man City keep a clean sheet. UEFA recognized this performance when awarding the Stones the "Player of the Match" award.

Compared to the Bayern match, the flexibility of Stones' play was evident in the 4-1 reverse victory over Liverpool in the English Premier League on April 1. The Englishman has 95 per cent pass accuracy, and the position he takes in the center allows the rest of City's midfielders to advance, while forcing Liverpool's defense to drop deeper than usual.

The image below shows City's system, with Stones standing across Rodri in the middle of the field, before the ball was rotated to the two lines and then was cushioned by Julian Alvarez into an empty net to equalize the score at 1-1.

In the second half, when City took the lead, Rodri often backed down in defense to let the Stones receive the ball. In the third goal, Stones received the ball from Nathan Ake and opened it to the right. Then, he moved close to the Liverpool penalty area, connecting with Alvarez, before Ilkay Gundogan scored.

In the away game against Southampton on April 8, Stones passed 32 passes with 29 accuracy, reaching a rate of 90.6%, before making way for Kyle Walker 56 minutes in. The yellow card after a foul on Carlos Alcaraz from the first half caused the English player to be withdrawn from the field.

In fact, Man City struggled to move the ball in the 56 minutes Stones was on the field, when Southampton pressed high. But the host then fell physically and received three consecutive goals in the last half hour.

When the opponent was about to swing long from the goalkeeper position, Stones was arranged to kick next to Rodri, instead of kicking across the other three defenders. When Man City holds the ball, he mainly appears on the right wing, looking to receive the ball to escape the crowded midfield area.

Kyle Walker and Joao Cancelo were once "favored", becoming Guardiola's new tactical creations at Man City before. But Cancelo was pushed to Bayern, and Walker became a substitute with only one starting time in the last six games - a 6-0 FA Cup win over Burnley.

Before the win over Southampton, Guardiola said Walker had to be a substitute because he couldn't kick the ball into the middle. "Walker has always run very fast. At 60, he will still be the fastest in this room," said the Spanish coach. "But to play in the middle you have to have movements, trained movements, and Walker doesn't have all of those characteristics. He's good at kicking in in a four-back, but he can't. kick with a system of three defenders and two players in the middle of the field."

Some failures in the Champions League also showed that Man City's collective defense was not good, when Walker, Cancelo or Oleksandr Zinchenko were isolated by the opponent in the wing corridor and exploited the position.

But since Stones was used in a new role - often moving from a central right-back to a central midfielder, Guardiola seems to have found a solution. Man City have only conceded three times in seven matches, and scored 28 goals, since the win against Crystal Palace on March 11 - the first match Stones moved to the middle of the field.

In fact, Guardiola used to apply the same system at the beginning of the season with Cancelo or Rico Lewis being trusted. But this system has been upgraded with Stones - players whose defensive abilities far exceed those of the personnel who took on this new role before.

Cancelo has always played better in attack and the fact that he came on as a second-half substitute against his host club in the first leg last week showed that Thomas Tuchel agreed with Guardiola's tactical views. Meanwhile, Lewis is only 18 years old, and Walker's speed does not match this change. Compared to them, the Stones are more comprehensive with new roles.

"This is something I'm still learning and it certainly doesn't come naturally," Stones said of his new position after beating Bayern. "This is an opportunity for me to be more creative. But I don't have a good vision so I just try to play it safe. We've worked together for seven months. Guardiola wouldn't have done that if he didn't trust me. After that, I try to express myself and help the team."

Stones is modest, but his ascent to new heights has long been anticipated. Since the age of 21 and playing for Everton in November 2015, Stones has been selected by Barca's Gerard Pique in the world's best team. "Now, the center-back position is not just about defending, annoying or stubborn, but knowing how to control, pass and hold the ball comfortably," the former Spain midfielder explained.

Stones' former mentor at Barnsley - Academy Head of Coaching Mark Burton - encouraged his students to emulate the style of play based on Pique and Javier Mascherano at Barca under Guardiola. This partly explains the Stones' proficiency with the latest tactical flexibility at the Etihad Stadium.

Earlier this season, Guardiola struggled to find the best cards. He even pulled Bernardo Silva down to the full-back. But after the latest tests, pushing Stones into central midfield, the Man City coach seems to have found the most satisfactory frame.

On his personal podcast channel, former Man Utd defender Gary Neville commented: "Man City has four stable central defenders, three stable midfielders are Gundogan, Rodri and Kevin De Bruyne. On the attack is a combination of the trio. Jack Grealish, Haaland and someone else, whether it's Riyad Mahrez, Bernardo Silva, Julian Alvarez or Phil Foden Stones has played the tempo before and is very solid on the ball, so I really think Guardiola had the right mix."