John Stones says the countless blocks Manchester City's defenders made during Tuesday’s 3-0 Champions League quarter-final first leg win over Bayern Munich were “key moments” that gave the team inspiration to fight on.
A first-half pearler from Rodri before efforts from Bernardo Silva and Erling Haaland in the second period saw the Blues record an emphatic win over the German champions. Both sides mustered plenty of shots at goal with both Ederson and visiting goalkeeper Yann Sommer forced into clever saves.
City threw their bodies on the line to block a swathe of efforts throughout the match, Ruben Dias notably blocking Jamal Musiala's low strike that looked destined for the bottom corner on 25 minutes with the game goalless.
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Man of the match John Stones made a number of crucial tackles himself in his newly-occupied defensive midfield role and after the match admitted City’s defensive play fuelled added motivation and confidence.
"Huge things like that [blocks] are always satisfying to watch, they don't happen too often,” he said. “We thrive off things like blocks. Ruben's today, Nathan Ake's, Eddie's few saves when Leroy [Sane]'s hitting the ball we know what he's like when he gets into those positions.
“They're huge moments in games and especially in fine margins in big games like this, those are the key moments for me that matter and I think we should celebrate those. You can probably see from the stands that we do and it gives everyone such a big lift.”
Bayern ended the game with more possession than the hosts (56 per cent to 44) albeit only managed to produce four shots on target. Stones - who provided a headed assist for Haaland's 45th goal of the season - said City nevertheless felt at ease on the ball, and off it.
He added: “Being together, I didn't know about the possession stats but we always felt comfortable and even when they were 70 minutes into the game and we were kind of backed up onto our 18-yard box it's about being calm in those situations, knowing that everyone's in their positions and trusting in the process that everyone's going to do their job and put their heart on the line sometimes."
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