PEP GUARDIOLA sprung one other one in every of his surprises after the World Cup by handing John Stones a brand new hybrid function on this good Manchester Metropolis crew.
Premier League golf equipment, together with the likes of Actual Madrid within the Champions League, have subsequently struggled to cope with Stones when he switches from central defence to midfield as soon as Metropolis have the ball.
Jadon Sancho caught to John Stones all through the FA Cup closing
By sitting on Stones, Sancho stopped the ball attending to the Man Metropolis star
Sancho closes Stones down the second goalkeeper Ortega is in possession
Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag had a transparent gameplan to nullify Stones and it labored nicely.
Each time the England centre-back moved ahead and Metropolis have been in possession, ten Hag instructed Jadon Sancho to successfully act as a person marker.
Consequently, though he nonetheless delivered one other polished efficiency defensively, Stones was not fairly as efficient as he has been this season as a result of he had so little room to function in.
Sancho began out huge left however as quickly as United misplaced the ball – which was rather a lot – he moved inside and ensured he was at all times inside a few yards of fellow countryman Stones.
Ten hag then determined to have a switcharound simply after the hour with Metropolis in management at 2-1 and searching more likely to get a 3rd.
Christian Eriksen was taken off for Alejandro Garnacho who moved out to the left with Sancho transferring over to the correct.
It was a little bit of a bet by the United supervisor as this could have allowed Stones to get ahead greater than he had been capable of throughout the remainder of the match.
There was one event when he was caught out badly. Marcus Rashford received possession and fed Garnacho, however Stones nonetheless had the tempo to race again and pluck the ball off {the teenager}’s toes earlier than constructing one other Metropolis assault.
Sancho chases Stones down within the field
Stones had Sancho’s consideration all through the 90 minutes
But the introduction of Garnacho by ten Hag gave United an additional edge.
Inevitably, Stones spent extra time as a part of the again 4 however his defending remained at a excessive stage and he delivered one excellent block to disclaim Garnacho.
Unsurprisingly, as he was ineffective huge proper even with out having the accountability to trace Stones, Sancho was changed by Wout Weghorst.
Scott McTominay additionally changed defender Victor Lindelof in a closing throw of the cube however regardless of hitting the bar by Raphael Varane in injury-time, they by no means severely threatened to interrupt down Metropolis’s defence.