Manchester City title celebrations ‘something I won’t forget’ – John Stones

Joleon Lescott talks about Manchester City’s new generation and what to expect from Pep Guardiola in the coming seasons.

Pep Guardiola delves into his high standards for his Man City players in training, when in possession and their decision making.

The FC crew delve into Man City’s evolution during Pep Guardiola’s second season in charge and debate whether winning the Premier League put his critics to bed.

ESPN’s Mark Ogden and Jonathan Smith discuss whether Pep Guardiola can break even more league records after Manchester City won the Premier League.
John Stones has thanked Manchester City fans for making his title celebrations so special.
The England defender was one of a number of City players who partied in a bar packed with supporters after the Premier League crown was secured on Sunday.
In images that went viral on social media, Stones and teammates Vincent Kompany, Bernardo Silva, Fabian Delph and Kyle Walker sang songs and bounced around on a raucous evening in Hale, Cheshire.
Stones said: “It was good because there were a lot of City…

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Jamie Vardy, Ashley Young boost stock, centre-back questions persist in England draw

LONDON — Three thoughts from Wembley on England’s 1-1 draw with Italy in England’s final friendly before the provisional World Cup squad is released in May.
1. Fringe players rise, fall
Two friendlies against the faded aristocracy of European football, a win and a draw, and Gareth Southgate will probably enter the last few weeks before he names his England World Cup squad with a sense of quiet satisfaction.

The result was almost an afterthought, but it’s the progression of his team that will…

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John Stones’ form is concerning for Manchester City

John Stones, Kyle Walker and other Man City players played in a friendly game of hide-and-seek during their trip to Abu Dhabi.

Ilkay Gundogan has been an engine in Manchester City’s midfield in recent weeks. Check out some of his best moments on both sides of the pitch.

Stewart Robson previews the all-English UCL quarterfinal clash between Liverpool and Man City and the pitfalls both teams must navigate to reach the semifinals.
When Manchester City travelled to Leicester in November last year, visiting fans were most concerned about Vincent Kompany. Making his first start since limping out of a World Cup qualifier the previous August, there were worries that the Belgian international defender was not only going to be rusty, but also susceptible to yet another muscle problem.
In hindsight, though, it turned out to be the match that turned John Stones’ season on its head. Until then, he’d barely put a foot wrong and formed…

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Hart faces heartbreak but Rashford, Sterling, Kane a fearsome England trio

ESPN FC’s Shaka Hislop discusses England’s goalkeeping dilemma for the World Cup.

ESPN FC’s Shaka Hislop discusses England’s goalkeeping dilemma for the World Cup.
With under three months to go before the World Cup, Gareth Southgate is trying to figure out his best England team.
Here’s how we think England will line-up against Tunisia on June 18 …

ESPN FC’s predicted XI for England at the World Cup.
Goalkeeper: Jordan Pickford
If you cast your mind back to last summer, the prevailing wisdom was that Everton had “won” the transfer market. As it turned out, only Pickford represented much of an upgrade on what they already had, and while he hasn’t been flawless in the intervening months, he’s done enough to…

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John Stones: Man City not happy despite breaking UCL passes record

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola admitted his team were ‘really poor’ in the second half against Basel as City were beaten 1-2 at Etihad but progressed to the Champions League quarterfinals through 5-2 aggregate.

Craig Burley and the rest of the ESPN FC panel talk Manchester City’s UCL title chances as they march on to the quarter-finals.

Manchester City lose Leg 2 but win 5-2 on aggregate to pass easily into the quarterfinals.
Manchester City defender John Stones said he and his teammates were “disappointed” not to have met their usual standards in Wednesday’s 2-1 Champions League defeat at home to Basel.
City set a new Champions League record for the most passes in Wednesday’s home defeat, completing 978 passes in the loss to the Swiss champions.
It came just three days after they had broken the Premier League record against Chelsea with 902 passes, but City scored just once against the Londoners and created little in…

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Philippe Coutinho, Paul Pogba, Neymar and the most expensive World XI

Philippe Coutinho is set to become the second most expensive player in history after Barcelona agreed a €120 million fee, rising to €160m, with Liverpool.
We present to you the costliest XI in world football right now. All fe…

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Premier League defending isn’t worse, as Ferdinand says: it’s just evolving

ESPN’s Mark Ogden believes Virgil van Dijk can have the same impact on Liverpool that Rio Ferdinand had for Manchester United.

It’s hardly surprising to discover a former professional footballer suggesting that standards have slipped since his day, but there was plenty of truth in Rio Ferdinand’s recent suggestion that centre-backs are no longer as defensively solid. It’s a common refrain from both former defenders and former attackers: ex-defenders complain that skills simply aren’t valued any more, while former forwards boast that they would score a colossal amount of goals in the modern era with such poor defending….

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De Bruyne superb as City welcome back Stones, Silva in win vs. Watford

Man City rebounded from their second draw of the season with a convincing win over Watford.

Man City rebounded from their second draw of the season with a convincing win over Watford.

The ESPN FC crew share their collective surprise at the fact that Pep Guardiola started Kevin De Bruyne against Watford.

John Stones discusses his return to the Man City lineup and reacts to the goal they conceded late in their win over Watford.
There was a strange feel to a game that caps off a busy festive fixture list; having sealed the win after 13 minutes, City watched Watford attempt to defend a 2-0 deficit for long periods before the game ended in a muddle of sleepy missed passes on a soaked surface.

Manchester City

Watford

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1

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Positives
When Kevin de Bruyne was scythed to the ground by Jason Puncheon in the dying minutes of Sunday’s draw at Crystal Palace, nobody could have imagined he would be back to days later to put in a man-of-the-match performance….

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Manchester City dominate 2017 Premier League team of the year

The FC crew react to the 2017 Premier League team of the year, as selected by ESPN FC’s Mark Ogden.
It has been a year of two halves in the Premier League, with Chelsea and Manchester City dominating either side of the summer break. Manchester United have become title challengers again, with Tottenham, Liverpool and Arsenal also showing signs of progress. So who makes the Premier League Best XI of 2017?
Goalkeeper: David De Gea
The Man United goalkeeper has established himself as the best and most consistent in the Premier League, with his match-winning performance at Arsenal at the beginning…

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