PEP GUARDIOLA has an abundance of talent at his disposal but nobody could accuse Manchester City’s mastermind of shirking his duties from a tactical standpoint.
Whereas plenty of managers would have been reluctant to change anything about a set-up that puts trophies in the cabinet, the 52-year-old Spaniard is forever adapting his approach.
This season, City have often shaped up in a 3-2-4-1 (or 3-2-3-2) formation with a defender joining Rodri (£3.8m) at the base of midfield to provide build-up play.
The man occupying this hybrid role currently is John Stones (£5.5m).
Stones excelled against Bayern Munich
As a natural ball-playing centre-back, the England international has the necessary technical attributes required to play further up field and of course his tackling, tracking and aerial prowess adds plenty of steel to the midfield.
Stones fulfilled the role superbly once again on Tuesday night as City sent out a message to all their Champions League rivals with a 3-0 win over Bayern Munich at the Etihad in their quarter-final first leg.
It’s one thing filling in for a Premier League game in which City will dominate weaker opposition for the game’s duration but another thing entirely to excel against the likes of Jamal Musiala, Leon Goretzka and Joshua Kimmich.
Dream Team gaffers would have already considered Stones as a viable option but his reformed role has made him particularly appealing.
Right now, the 28-year-old is essentially a midfielder who also gets clean sheet points – a Dream Team trick of sorts.
And because he’s occupying more advanced positions, he’s more likely to register goal contributions, as he did against the German giants when his header back across goal was slotted home by Erling Haaland (£9.3m).
Granted, direct goal involvements are still relatively rare but the mere acts of creating chances and getting shots off will also boost his match ratings (most of the time).
GETTYThe hybrid role has suited Stones so far[/caption]
Since returning to the team, Stones has produced 25 points at an average of 6.25 per Game Week – he currently appears in just 1.7% of teams.
More generally, it feels like a great time to back City defenders – Tuesday night’s game was just the second time Bayern have failed to score this season.
Ruben Dias (£6.4m) has been excellent of late, as has Nathan Ake (£4.6m), while Manuel Akanji (£4.4m) continues to rack up minutes on the pitch.
City host struggling Leicester this weekend before the second leg against Bayern next Wednesday – a favourable FA Cup semi-final draw against Championship side Sheffield United also looks ripe for healthy returns.