John Stones has revealed he is always looking to learn from Erling Haaland in training to become an even better defender.
Haaland has been sensational since he joined Manchester City from Borussia Dortmund in the summer, with his goals firing the Blues to the cusp of a historic treble. The Norwegian sensation's 36 Premier League strikes means he has scored more in a single campaign than anyone else and he has bagged a remarkable 52 in all competitions.
Every defender Haaland has faced knows how hard he is to deal with and Stones is always challenging him in training to improve his own game.
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“Everyone expects him to score every game now with how many goals he has scored all season and that is not the reality of football," he said. "I do my best in training to try and stop him and learn from him with what he is so good at and try to bring something new to my game to improve myself from a world-class striker.”
Stones has made waves this season by playing a hybrid role by stepping out of defence when City have the ball to become an extra midfielder. It's a complicated task which makes his performances even more impressive and he has opened up on the complexities it involves.
“I think football is always evolving," he added. "The manager has so many good ideas that he tries to get across to us as players and we try to adapt. Bernardo has played left-back this season and done a similar role and he did so well within that.
"I think I have had a bit more continuity in that position and I am really enjoying myself. Whoever plays and plays within whatever role or position the manager wants them to do, we try and give it our best. Over the past few months or weeks, the more and more I have played in that role, it becomes more comfortable for me personally, knowing what is expected of me and learning the position.
"That is the same for the players around me and they know what or where I am going to be in specific situations of a game. There are always slight tweaks in every game that people probably don’t notice but we are always trying to improve and evolve and if that comes from different system changes it does and we are all on the same page as the manager and believing what he brings to us as a team.
"I think I knew what was expected of me in that position because of how much we had trained on it on the training pitch. We all change positions and know what is expected of different people in different roles, so when you are asked to do something, you switch into that mode and know what the manager has asked. It is a bit easier in that respect because you have worked on it on the training pitch. I think it comes down to the clarity and knowing what is expected of you."
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