Stones: First Manchester City goal was long time coming

John Stones isn’t really expected to chip in with many goals, yet the defender claims he was long overdue after opening his Manchester City account.

Stones nodded in Nolito’s corner late on during the 5-0 thrashing of West Ham in the FA Cup third round at the London Stadium last Friday.

The 22-year-old moved to the Etihad Stadium from Everton over the summer and it took until his 26th appearance, against the Hammers, to find the net for the first time.

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Stones had something of a perfect day as he also helped City keep a clean sheet – just the third he has been involved in since mid-September – and the highly-rated centre-half was understandably chuffed with his day’s work.

“It’s been a long time coming to be honest! I should have scored a few in previous games and it’s nice to get one in a special cup,” said Stones.

“To get a clean sheet for us defenders, which we haven’t had too many of, we’re thrilled.

“I thought we moved the ball well, first and foremost, and that got us the chance.

“We changed our system a bit, playing as a diamond with the front three. The overall performance was really good.”