Manchester City defender John Stones could cap a remarkable turnaround from a virtual outcast to being at the cutting edge of Pep Guardiola’s masterplan with a Champions League victory.
Three years ago the 29-year-old’s future was uncertain. He had made just 24 appearances in the 2019-20 season and the club had spent over £100million on centre-backs Nathan Ake and Ruben Dias.
That summer Guardiola admitted there was a distinct possibility a player lacking confidence could leave and he did not play a minute in seven of the eight opening league games of the next season.
But over the course of three seasons he has turned things around so much he is now seen as an integral part of his manager’s latest tactical tweak, with the current fashion for a defender to play as a midfielder when the side is in possession.
“It was probably one of the hardest times in my career,” said Stones of that period in 2020.
“I literally went back to firstly looking at myself, being super-critical of myself and what I could do better on the football pitch, and then looking into every fine detail, down to what food, what training, what extras.
“That’s come down to doing stuff here and then going home and doing work, even late at night, or straight after the training, finding these small margins, putting them all together to kind of break where I was at after coming back to playing.
“Yeah, (it was a) big learning curve for me and maybe who I am today.”
In that time period a number of players have left, with Guardiola’s propensity for dispensing with full-backs a little too close for comfort at times for Stones.
But the former Everton defender never considered seeking opportunities elsewhere.
“I never thought about that. I think as soon as you accept that or have that mindset then you have killed yourself,” he added.
“I always wanted to stay, I have stayed and I absolutely love it. I wanted to prove to myself. I didn’t say to anyone ‘It was because I want to prove to you’.
“I think, if anything, you have to prove to yourself first and foremost that you deserve to be here, you are good enough to be here, and what you bring to the team.”
The goals of Erling Haaland have helped propel City to a second Champions League final in three years where they start as strong favourites against Inter Milan in Istanbul.
But Stones’ role and that, to a lesser extent, of Rico Lewis in stepping forward has added another dimension to an already multi-layered team.
“People have always said from a young age that they can see me playing in there. I still do love playing as a centre-half and I’ve absolutely loved this role as well,” said the Barnsley-born defender.
“I think I have showed myself that I’m able to do it, maybe showing some attributes that I didn’t know that I had.
“But the manager has seen (something) in me and ultimately I think I’m just trying to show what I can do in there and be able to help the team ultimately win with my attributes.”
City may be the favourites but Stones insists they will not be under-estimating Inter, a team who finished in third 18 points behind Serie A champions Napoli.
“They’re in the Champions League final for a reason,” he added.
“No matter who we’re playing, no matter what league they’re in, we give the team the respect that they deserve because even the FA Cup, let’s make an example of that, there’s giant-killers, smaller teams in League One and League Two that beat Premier League winners.
“That’s where the respect (comes from) that every team deserves.
“They’ve got incredible players. How they played in a big occasion, in a derby game in the Champions League semi-final (against AC Milan) is never easy.
“We know what we’re up against, they are an incredible team.”
Carlo Ancelotti plays down form relevance amid ‘special tension’ of Madrid derby
Carlo Ancelotti has stressed that form counts for little amid the “special tension” of a Madrid derby as Real and Atletico prepare to clash at the Metropolitano Stadium on Sunday.
The two sides head into the game on the back of contrasting fortunes, with Ancelotti’s Real having reeled off five straight wins to kick off the LaLiga season as well as getting their Champions League campaign under way with victory over Union Berlin.
Atletico, meanwhile, limp into the game still shellshocked by goalkeeper Ivan Provedel’s late equaliser for Lazio in their midweek Champions League clash, which swiftly followed their 3-0 domestic loss at Valencia last week.
“I think the derby is always a great opportunity, whether you’re in a good moment or a bad one,” said Ancelotti.
“A derby is always a special game. We like to prepare for these games and be the stars. There is a special tension and we’re excited to do all we can to be the stars.”
Ancelotti has named Vinicius Jr in his squad after the Brazilian made a faster than expected recovery from a calf strain sustained in the win over Celta Vigo last month.
The initial prognosis ruled the player out for six weeks but Ancelotti bridled at suggestions that he may have taken an unnecessary risk in naming the winger in his squad ahead of schedule.
“There is zero risk,” Ancelotti insisted. “He trained because there is zero risk. If we think there is one per cent risk, he won’t play. What’s important is that Vinicius has recovered. I’ve told him he will be missing some conditioning after a month out, but we will evaluate it tomorrow.”
There was also encouraging news over in-form England midfielder Jude Bellingham, who has made a full recovery after missing training on Thursday with a minor stomach complaint.
Ancelotti alluded to the midfield riches at his disposal that have helped extend his side’s perfect start, and said his big names should not take it personally if they are subject to rotation or substitution.
“Leaving not only (Toni) Kroos or (Luka) Modric on the bench is hard, and the same for (Federico) Valverde,” added Ancelotti.
“The competition in midfield is strong and the reflection with the team is when we make a change, the player coming off is sad.
“I understand that you come off sad because you think I’m changing you because you’re not playing well. But very often it’s because I have resources and I want to put someone on fresh. I tell them only to be sad if they haven’t given 100 per cent.”
Luis Enrique expects PSG forwards to follow Kylian Mbappe’s lead
Luis Enrique is confident it will not only be Kylian Mbappe boasting impressive stats in the Paris St Germain attack this season.
The opening five matches of PSG’s Ligue 1 campaign have seen them claim eight points and score 10 goals, with seven of those being netted by Mbappe.
The France forward was on the scoresheet once again in Wednesday’s 2-0 Champions League victory over Borussia Dortmund, putting his side ahead with a penalty.
PSG return to league action with Sunday’s Le Classique against Marseille at the Parc des Princes, and when asked at his pre-match press conference if the team were depending too much on Mbappe, boss Enrique said: “That is a great thing to worry about.
“If we have a player like Kylian Mbappe who usually scores 50 goals and gets 25 assists, it would be ridiculous to think that he wouldn’t keep that up.
“We hope he can keep improving, and his team-mates can contribute more in terms of goals and assists, and I think many of the players will have impressive stats.”
In a summer that saw Lionel Messi and Neymar depart the club, PSG’s new signings included the attacking trio Ousmane Dembele, Goncalo Ramos and Randal Kolo Muani, none of whom have scored yet.
Enrique was asked if he was expecting more in the Marseille contest from the latter pair, and said: “I expect a lot from every player.
“We need to be efficient in attack and in defence. We need our defenders to bring the ball forwards to our attackers so they can score goals, and the attackers also need to apply the press.
“What matters is that we achieve our target as a team.”
The champions, after drawing twice, then winning twice, were beaten in their last league outing, 3-2 at home by Nice.
Marseille have parted company with boss Marcelino since their last league match.
The club said a meeting took place on Monday at which “representatives of the supporters’ associations expressed their wish to see the current OM directorate resign”, adding: “The threat of a ‘war’ against them was issued, for as long as they did not resign from their posts.”
OM then released a statement on Wednesday saying: “Olympique de Marseille believes that the events of September 18 do not allow Marcelino and his technical staff to carry out their role under suitable conditions for which they were hired.
“As a result of this regrettable situation, Marcelino and his staff will not continue the job they started at Olympique de Marseille.
“Given the circumstances, the entire club is extremely disappointed to face the departure of a coach and technical staff who arrived in Marseille on June 23 and were fully committed to the club, due to non-sporting reasons.”
OM – who are a point better off than PSG in Ligue 1 – subsequently drew 3-3 with Ajax in the Europa League on Thursday, overseen by Jacques Abardonado.
Celtic overcome Joe Hart red card to beat Livingston
Reo Hatate’s penalty and second-half goals from Matt O’Riley and Daizen Maeda helped Celtic to a 3-0 win at Livingston despite losing Joe Hart to a first-half red card.
The former England goalkeeper fouled Mo Sangare just outside of the penalty box and was sent off by referee John Beaton.
That left Brendan Rodgers’ side to play the final hour with just 10 men but they never looked in any real danger as Livingston failed to take advantage of their numerical supremacy.
Their manager David Martindale had made two changes from the team that had drawn 1-1 with Ross County the previous weekend.
In came Sangare and Scott Pittman, replacing Mikey Devlin and Stephen Kelly.
There was only one change to the Celtic starting line-up from their Champions League loss to Feyenoord and it was a surprising one, James Forrest handed his first start since January as Luis Palma dropped out.
The first chance came for Celtic but Hatate’s low dribbler lacked the power to trouble Shamal George in the home goal.
Livingston replied with a fierce Bruce Anderson drive that Hart did well to parry, with Callum McGregor booting Pittman’s rebound effort off the line.
The opening goal, however, came at the other end after 13 minutes. Luiyi de Lucas needlessly brought down Hatate and Beaton immediately awarded the penalty.
Hatate chose to take it himself and his effort squeezed under George’s body to give Celtic the lead.
The goalkeeper was unfortunate there but proved his worth shortly after as he rushed out to block Maeda’s shot from close range.
The next piece of drama unfolded at the other. Sangare reached James Penrice’s ball ahead of Hart, the goalkeeper bringing him down clumsily on the edge of the box.
Beaton flashed a red card and VAR did not change the decision, reducing Celtic to 10 men for the remaining hour of the match. Forrest was sacrificed to allow Scott Bain to come on.
Penrice took the resultant free-kick but curled it into the side netting before Ayo Obileye had a dig from distance that Bain stopped well.
Livingston began the second half looking to capitalise on their extra man but instead found themselves further behind less than three minutes later.
Maeda failed to turn in Kyogo Furuhashi’s cross from close range but O’Riley helped him out by lashing in the rebound.
Joel Nouble then tried to lob Bain after a mistake by the substitute goalkeeper but his attempt drifted just over the crossbar as Livi failed to mount any kind of response.
Instead there was still time for Celtic to claim a third in injury time with Maeda finishing well from distance.
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