Manchester City goal hero John Stones praises Kevin de Bruyne’s “outrageous” threat of assistance

The unlikely goal hero, John Stones, called King Kevin De Bruyne’s assistance “outrageous”, with Manchester City threatening to take over the title race.

The Stones had never scored in the Premier League since joining City in 2016, until Sunday’s one-two during Crystal Palace’s four-goal rout.

The victory left City just two points behind neighboring leader Manchester United, with one game less, while Pep Guardiola seeks his third Premier League title at the helm.

Stones headed for the first time after an excellent cross from De Bruyne, the Belgian’s 100th assist since arriving at the club, before the floodgates opened in the second half.

The England defender said: ‘Kevin did this over the years he’s been here, some outrageous passes where you think’ I don’t know how he did it ‘.

“It came straight to me – it’s something we can only dream about and he can do it whenever he wants. I push myself to score goals, I need to contribute and bring that to my game ‘.

City’s defensive improvement with Stones and Ruben Dias has been the biggest contributor to the club’s recovery. The duo conceded just one goal in 10 matches when they debuted side by side in all competitions.

“If we can keep the score clean, we don’t have to go out and score four goals every week,” added Stones. ‘The whole team deserves credit for the way it presses and prevents attacks that reach (through) us.

‘Ruben has been great, he deserves a lot of credit since he joined and has adapted well to the Premier League.

‘It has been great for me to play alongside him, he is so easy to get on and off the field. It’s just clicked. When that happens, you like your football and I’m definitely enjoying it.

‘We know our capabilities and everyone outside, too, our mentality is one step at a time and how we can affect the game ahead of us.

“Today was another step closer to what we want to achieve, which is the return of the Premier League title.”