It is a 12-day period that could make or break Manchester City’s season. Double headers against Atletico Madrid and Liverpool, in their contrasting ways two of the most intense teams in world football, would be demanding enough even without the stakes that span three competitions. It is Champions League, Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup. If City end up with a treble, it will be in part thanks to the events of early April.
“There maybe hasn't been another time where there have been such big games,” said John Stones, whose six seasons at the Etihad Stadium have given him plenty of experience of high-pressure matches. “It's an important time and an exciting time. We should be positive about it.”
They encountered negativity in the first of four defining matches, the blanket defence of Atletico, which Kevin de Bruyne described as a 5-5-0 formation. Yet De Bruyne pierced it. City take a 1-0 lead to Madrid for next week’s second leg.
If they are slight favourites to reach the Champions League semi-finals, it is in part because of the platform provided by Stones. The official statistics showed Atletico with no shots of any description.
It was all the more admirable as City fielded a defence without the suspended Kyle Walker and the injured Ruben Dias. The Portuguese, the reigning Footballer of the Year, is set to miss Sunday’s meeting with Jurgen Klopp’s team.
In his absence, the comparatively old firm of Aymeric Laporte and Stones have teamed up again, with the latter feeling “good” after a groin injury meant he missed England’s friendly wins over Switzerland and Ivory Coast and was an unused substitute when City beat Burnley last Saturday.
“I've been fortunate to spend quite a few years with Ayme,” he said. “The boys that haven't been here for as long as some of us have gelled quickly and it has been a seamless transition. I can’t say a bad thing about any player that I’ve played with here. We’re so lucky.”
He may be kept busier on Sunday. Liverpool are unlikely to copy Atletico’s ultra-defensive tactics. They have the league’s top two scorers (Mohamed Salah and Diogo Jota) – while Sadio Mane has a share of third place, and the leading trio in the assist charts (Trent Alexander-Arnold, Salah and Andrew Robertson). They have outscored City this season, but Guardiola’s men have a one-point lead in the table that matters most.
Manchester City 1 Atletico Madrid 0: player ratings
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MANCHESTER CITY RATINGS: Ederson - 6, Hardly touched the ball but kept his concentration throughout. Was confusingly booked for trying to help Matheus Cunha up. Reuters -
Joao Cancelo - 6, Had the first shot, which was deflected then cleared. Did well to track Joao Felix but had a lapse in concentration that allowed Renan Lodi to steal the ball in a dangerous area. EPA -
John Stones - 7, Held Felix up well when he threatened to get behind the City defence and moved the ball nicely. Hit a shot harmlessly over the crossbar. AFP -
Aymeric Laporte - 8, Was authoritative and made the tackle to deny Felix after Ilkay Gundogan’s loose pass was intercepted. Came agonisingly close to finding the top corner with a header and was dominant in his own box. AP -
Nathan Ake - 8, Showed brilliant awareness in his defending and did well to beat Marcos Llorente to an early ball over the top. Hardly put a foot wrong. EPA -
Kevin De Bruyne - 8, Showed plenty of ingenuity and did well to find Gundogan in the box early in the second half. Took his goal brilliantly after being slipped through by Phil Foden, but saw another shot blocked by Stefan Savic then struck over in the latter stages. EPA -
Rodri - 6, Some of his passing was sloppy, but the former Atleti midfielder came up with some decisive moments defensively, notably stopping Llorente’s counter attempt. AFP -
Ilkay Gundogan - 7, Popped up in some good positions but couldn’t quite find the breakthrough. Hit a shot high and wide but was then unlucky to see his shot deflected wide. EPA -
Riyad Mahrez - 7, Showed moments of creativity and delivered some crosses that came agonisingly close to finding a City head. Did well to get a header but couldn’t find the target. Reuters -
Bernardo Silva - 7, Made some inventive movements but struggled to impact the game in key areas in the first half, though he was unlucky to be tackled by Koke after getting into Atletico's box. EPA -
Raheem Sterling - 7, Made some great bursts forward and was involved most of the times that Atleti looked remotely stretched in the first period. Reuters -
SUBS: Jack Grealish (Gundogan, 68’) - 7, Won a free kick within seconds of coming on, which gave a taste of what he was in for as Atleti paid him plenty of attention. The Englishman did well to keep his composure. PA -
Gabriel Jesus (Sterling, 68’) - 5, Had some nearly moments, but the decisive one came when he received a silly booking for dissent that means he will miss the second leg. Getty -
Phil Foden (Mahrez, 68’) - 8, With his first touches after being introduced, it was the City academy graduate who unlocked Atleti’s defence, slipping the pass through for De Bruyne. In a superb performance, he also danced through the opposition defence to create another chance for De Bruyne. Reuters -
ATLETICO MADRID RATINGS: Jan Oblak - 6, His kicking was poor at times. Stopped De Bruyne’s free kick well then kicked it away, but there was nothing he could do for the goal. Reuters -
Sime Vrsaljko - 6, Did well to reach Cancelo’s deflected shot, then blocked De Bruyne’s effort. He initially dealt with City’s attacks impressively, but went too far by the end and conceded free kicks, getting booked for a challenge on Grealish. PA -
Stefan Savic - 7, Kept his shape well and ensured that City weren’t able to find an easy route through to goal. Did brilliantly to get across and redirect Gundogan’s shot wide, making another vital block to keep out De Bruyne’s attempt. Getty -
Felipe - 7, Mixed up his defending superbly in the first half, often sitting deep and then stepping out to win back possession. Blocked Rodri’s shot from range. Couldn’t keep up with De Bruyne when the Belgian was slipped through by Foden. EPA -
Reinildo Mandava - 7, Made some brilliant interventions to ensure City didn’t get through in the first half, including a tackle to stop Silva breaking forward and an interception after Mahrez had skipped past Lodi. However, he was nutmegged by Foden for the opener. PA -
Renan Lodi - 5, Caught out Cancelo to steal the ball in a dangerous area but couldn’t find Antoine Griezmann. If there was anybody in Atleti’s back five who looked like a weak link defensively it was him. Committed the foul for De Bruyne’s free kick attempt. PA -
Marcos Llorente - 5, Helped out defensively but struggled to make any sort of attacking impact, which was partly down to impressive play from Ake. Needlessly strayed offside when a few potential openings arrived. Sent a weak shot straight into Ederson’s arms. AP -
Geoffrey Kondogbia - 6, Showed plenty of discipline and awareness in the first half, meaning he was often in the perfect position to help out his defence. Continued to make things difficult in the second period. AP -
Koke - 7, Very disciplined and did well to avoid conceding a penalty when tackling Silva in his own box. Also did a good job of breaking up the play. EPA -
Joao Felix - 7, Was Atleti’s main outlet and did well to trouble the City defence at all considering how isolated he often found himself. Dropped deeper down the left in the second period and did a good defensive job. PA -
Antoine Griezmann - 6, Was largely anonymous in the first half but raced forward for a counter early in the second. Filled in well to help Atleti’s defensive shape. EPA -
SUBS: Rodrigo De Paul (Koke, 60’) - 4, Did well to stop De Bruyne breaking forward shortly after coming on. Was booked for a late tackle on Grealish and some his passing was sloppy. EPA -
Angel Correa (Griezmann, 60’) - 4, It was easy to forget the Argentine was on the pitch until he was booked for kicking the ball at Grealish’s face when the Englishman was on the floor. Offered very little down the right. AFP -
Matheus Cunha (Llorente, 60’) - 5, Made a good run forward before being dispossessed in the corner. Looked frustrated at times that things weren’t happening around him. EPA -
Thomas Lemar (Felix, 81’) – N/R, Put in some good work but couldn’t capitalise after Cancelo slipped. AFP
It offers an echo of the recent past: in 2019, they finished one clear, with 98 to 97, helped by a 2-1 win at the Etihad. And that, in turn, stemmed from a remarkable goal-line clearance from Stones that, unprompted, Klopp mentioned recently. The ball was 11mm from crossing the line. On such margins can silverware be decided.
“We’re first and second in the table, everyone knows that,” Stones said. “Three years ago it came down to the last game, so we've been in these situations before and the experience of that time we definitely learnt from. We went 14 games unbeaten and we know every game is so important to us.”
That was actually underplaying City’s brilliance in 2019 when they won their final 14 matches and Liverpool their last nine in an inspired, if ultimately fruitless, pursuit. Now Guardiola thinks the Merseysiders, who have 10 successive league victories, may not drop any other points, making it imperative City at least avoid defeat.
“We're human beings and we know what is riding on this game and how important it is to us but every game this season has been a final to us so we don't approach this any differently,” Stones said. Hype is not necessary; this is a genuinely huge match. For Stones, the challenge is to avoid thoughts about the consequences.
“We can't control when the games are and who we play,” he said. “There's obviously that extra buzz about the game and what it means but it is just another game. We don't get sucked into all the outside noise and concentrate on what we do.”
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Manchester City's Kevin De Bruyne celebrates with teammates after scoring his side's first goal in the 2p-0 win at Burnley. Getty -
Kevin De Bruyne scores the first goal past Nick Pope. Getty -
Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola hugs Ilkay Gundogan after the match. AP -
Gundogan celebrates after scoring the second goal. AP -
Gundogan scores. AP -
Burnley manager Sean Dyche and Pep Guardiola shake hands after the match. EPA
