“I love him” – Pep Guardiola admits one Manchester City player ‘looks like his son’ in their relationship | OneFootball

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has shone with praise for the club’s long-standing centre-back option John Stones, in light of improved performances.

It was the 30-year-old who once again cropped up late for the Premier League champions to score in the dying seconds of a match and rescue points to maintain Manchester City’s unbeaten start to the new season.

Having scored late in a dramatic 2-2 draw against Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium in September, Stones once again struck in additional time, this time at Molineux to claim all three points in a 1-2 win for Manchester City in the Premier League.

It is the latest positive performance from Stones as he continues to find his form and consistency for Manchester City this season, following a relatively slow start to the season often being snubbed in favour of a Ruben Dias and Manuel Akanji partnership.

Speaking during his pre-match press conference ahead of the meeting with Sparta Prague on Wednesday night, Pep Guardiola glowed on the subject of John Stones and their time working together at the Etihad Stadium since 2016.

“John [Stones] looks like he was my son. Honestly. I know his body language, I know everything of him. He’s one of the most adorable professionals, and lovely persons. There is no person I know more than best than him,” Guardiola said.

“The only reason maybe he was in recovery was because Ruben [Dias] and Manu [Akanji] were in incredibly top form. There’s no other secret; it’s not a lack of confidence, it’s not bad form, or whatever. He knows when he’s fine and when he’s not.

“You know how many meetings, and games, and training sessions we’ve been in together?! It’s not about that. But sometimes Ruben gives you something, Manu gives you something, and they were unbelievably strong, and it’s not about that he gave us one point against Arsenal, or two more points against Wolves.

“For the goals, they’re so important, to have that sense of goal it’s incredible in the box. It’s not about that. John I appreciate for an incredible amount of things that he does for us. I’m SO happy to still have him with us, and I love him.

“There are a lot of guys that means why I am still manager here, and I like to be with them. And always I want to try to help them, and I know from his body language when he’s fit and he’s ready.”

Pep Guardiola continued by stressing the importance of his entire squad remaining as fit as possible, or 100 per cent fit, for the duration of the season, even amongst a hectic schedule for both Manchester City and their national sides.

“We need him [John Stones], I need Nathan [Ake], all the players. Also, Nathan was injured with the national team the last two times, and it happens. I know it happens. But Josko [Gvardiol] cannot play all the minutes, all the games every three days, we need Nathan!

“Otherwise we cannot compete until the end. So today, in modern football, for teams the most important thing is not training sessions, the most important thing is not practicing things, the most important things is be fit! Be not injured!

“Because if you’re injured, you lose eight games. Muscular, not injuries like Oscar [Bobb], for example, or Rodri. No, injuries that are muscular you lose eight or ten games. So it’s better, no injuries is the only reason why you can arrive until the end of the season.

“So that’s why the doctors, the medical department, the physios, the amount of training, the intensity you have to do, you have to be SO careful. Because of the travel, the trips, and everything with the national teams, and here and games every three days – be fit, that’s the only thing I pray for!

“The rest, performing after nine years, it will come. The rest, talking a little bit, ‘Guys we have to come back to do this, to do that’, they get it! It’s not a problem. The problem is how we can do it if they are one month and a half out. There’s no solution for that.”