You don't have to cast your memory back too far to remember a time when the thought of John Stones in midfield was a scary one.
Pep Guardiola only trialled Stones in a defensive midfield role on one or two occasions in 2018 for Manchester City, taking up his ability to play in front of the back line but ultimately shelving the experiment for another four years. With Fernandinho, Ilkay Gundogan and then Rodri, Guardiola had enough options in midfield to allow Stones to concentrate on being a centre-back.
Now Stones has overcome his off-field problems to become one of City's most reliable players, Guardiola is ready to trust him again in midfield. Saturday is not the first time he's inverted alongside Rodri from right-back, but it was certainly the most effective performance from the number five.
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Whether it's Joao Cancelo, Rico Lewis, or Kyle Walker, Guardiola has favoured one of his full-backs moving into the midfield in possession to facilitate a back three. Again, this is not new information, and it's a credit to the current City squad that so many players are capable of doing a role with complex tactical and positional requirements.
Eight of Stones' appearances this season have come from right-back, partly required due to Cancelo's departure and Walker's injury before the World Cup. Even when Walker has returned, Stones has been picked ahead of the number two, and he earned praise on Saturday for his performance to push up alongside Rodri and help win a midfield battle that threatened to swing in Liverpool's advantage in the early stages at the weekend.
It was Stones' most defined outing as a defensive midfielder since 2018, where he started three games as an explicit holding midfielder against Crystal Palace, Leicester and Oxford. Guardiola said at the time that: "He needs time to do it but he's clever and he has a good pass, good vision and is strong in the air. Of course he can play in that position."
After four-and-a-half years, Stones must have felt that Guardiola had abandoned that route for his positional development. Yet here he is, having improved year-on-year in defence, now able to play in midfield and influence a game against Liverpool - who still have their counter-attacking threats despite their shaky form all season.
After City raced into a 4-1 lead, Stones was given more freedom, and more responsibility given Rodri's first-half booking and final warning. At times, Rodri was tucking back into defence for support, playing forward to Stones who was marshalling the midfield on his own. In fact, when the heatmaps of the pair are compared, Stones played over a larger area of the pitch and often ventured further forward, starting in a more advanced position than Rodri, and with most of his touches coming in the left area of defensive midfield, rather than from right-back.
Stones was also integral to the move that ended in City's game-killing third goal with some smart short-passing. With the game won, Guardiola replaced Rodri with ten minutes to go, and his replacement felt significant, too.
It wasn't Kalvin Phillips, who is being given more opportunities to learn the ropes in midfield in situations exactly like that. It wasn't even a change to allow Gundogan to drop back to his old position. Instead, Bernardo Silva replaced Rodri in a like-for-like swap.
Bernardo has now played at left-back, defensive-midfield, central-midfield, attacking-midfield and on both wings this season, to add to his turns as false nine last year. If anyone can slot into another position, it's their most versatile player. And like Stones, Bernardo has helped out in a deeper role plenty of times this season.
For Bernardo to hold the midfield by himself, however, shows that Guardiola feels he can trust the Portuguese in such a pivotal position - albeit with the game well won and opposition well beaten. The manager wants players who can read the game to play between the defence and midfield, so it's hardly a surprise that he's turned to Stones and Bernardo to assist Rodri.
City took so long to find, and then develop, a long-term replacement for Fernandinho. Now, they're turning to some of their more longer-term squad members to support Rodri and boost a position that is so important to Guardiola.
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