John Stones Lavishes Praise on Man City's Defence After Sensational Start to the Season

Manchester City defender John Stones believes keeping it tight at the back has allowed the Citizens to excel going forward. 

Guardiola's men have taken the league by storm in the early parts of the season, scoring 32 goals in nine games. City have only dropped two points so far, and sit five points clear at the top of the Premier League. 

Speaking to the Manchester City website after their convincing win over Burnley 3-0, Stones believes the clean sheets have been vital to the success of the side: "For me, [the clean sheets] have been massive this season, creating that platform for the boys to go and score.

“Not just me, it’s the whole team that are getting the clean sheets. The more we keep, the more chance we’ve got of winning games."

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City have vastly improved at the back, only conceding four this term after looking rather shaky at the back last season. In the summer they brought in Ederson, Danilo, Kyle Walker and Benjamin Mendy to add extra quality in the defensive ranks.

"It’s a combination of everything, really. The hard work on the training pitch, the players – everything is coming together and the desire to keep winning and keep keeping clean sheets, that confidence to take it into each game, is massive.

"The longer we keep doing that and keep striving for these things, it will keep coming each week and each game.”

Spending over £150m on defensive players in the summer has proved to be worth it for Pep Guardiola and the hierarchy at Manchester City.  

They next face a Wolves side in the Carabao Cup next Tuesday who are currently sitting at the top of the Championship.