English Premier League: Man City worry – Stones sidelined in busy period
One in and one out for Man City. The precise pattern of returner, Vincent Kompany and injury victim, John Stones after Saturday’s victory over Leicester City. Kompany played his first match since August and Stones could be out till January.
Mixed emotions during the 90 minutes when Man City controversially stole all the points against an antagonized, Leicester City. Happy to introduce the Big Belgian back to football and a sore moment watching his English partner, Stones get taken off.
It could have been a lot worse for the away team – who could have seen the return of Kompany and the ejection of him in under 45 minutes when the defender displayed a rusty tackle on Vardy during their clash on Saturday past.
Pep could have been in hotter water than the Indian Ocean wave he and his team were riding. A straight red – accumulating to a three-match ban and an injury that could be 4 – 6 weeks long, was on the cards.
The manager was not pleased with the outcome and bemoaned what a loss it will be for him and the squad to have lost a player who’s been a part of their ongoing success this season.
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Pep’s words on John Stones [Taken out the Manchester Evening News]:
"“Now John Stones is out, we have a real, real problem in that position.“We’re going to discuss when January is coming, we are going to think about it, but not because John is in that position.“To play in all the competitions, you need a bigger squad because the players don’t have time for regeneration before the next game."
The thought of Eliaquim Mangala or Nicolas Otamendi starting:
The thought of the either of the two names mentioned does not sit well. Both more than capable of error or more a game. Who will be left out of the equation of these two is the question.
To me, Otamendi has the ability to look brain-dead and expensive when leading the back line. Mangala on the other hand, just doesn’t appear to be Man City’s standard and Pep’s A grade type.
It was a blessing to have Vincent accompany Stones at the back, as Pep rushed to the opportunity to play his two first choices centre backs, rather than ease the Citizen’s captain back to a clean bill of health.
The manager has expressed his eagerness of playing Mangala and Otamendi, by not playing the two at all. So it will be interesting to see who Pep uses at the back, with his style and tactics matching nobody’s in the league. I wouldn’t be surprised to see David Silva play as a centre back (chuckling out loud).