John Stones Sadio Mane Manchester City Liverpool

Stones spares Ederson’s blushes

John Stones made one of the closest goalline clearances you will ever see against Liverpool but his reaction to replays afterwards was equally brilliant.

Liverpool travelled to the Etihad looking to extend their lead at the top of the table on Thursday evening.

The Reds were sat six points clear at the top and seven clear of City going into the incredibly important clash.

Should Liverpool have won the game, a 10 point gap would have been very hard to close, even for Pep Guardiola’s side.

Though, it was Manchester City who came out on top in the close affair but it could have been very different if not for John Stones’ very important clearance.

Dejan Lovren Manchester City Liverpool

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND – JANUARY 03: Benjamin Mendy of Manchester City celebrates victory with Raheem Sterling of Manchester City, Bernardo Silva of Manchester City and Sergio Aguero of Manchester City as Dejan Lovren of Liverpool reacts after the Premier League match between Manchester City and Liverpool FC at the Etihad Stadium on January 3, 2019 in Manchester, United Kingdom. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)

Incredibly close to being a goal

Following some neat build-up play from Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah, the latter slipped in Sadio Mane.

The forward beat the goalkeeper but not the post as the ball rebounded back out.

While John Stones looked set to clear the ball, Ederson attempted to jump on it and gather it up.

Instead, Stones’ clearance cannoned off the Brazilian’s head and looped towards goal before he was able to recover.

The defender got to the ball just in time before the ball cross the line, with replays showing just how close City had come to conceding.

Guardiola’s side would go on to win the game, with Sergio Aguero scoring before Roberto Firmino equalised.

Leroy Sane then scored what would be the winning goal in the second half with a brilliant finish.

Though, it’s John Stones’ reaction to replays of his clearance that has everyone talking on Friday.



John Stones’ reaction is priceless

Manchester City released a video on their social media pages of Stones watching the replay.

The defender was clearly quite happy with how close it was!

He then proceeded to shout ‘HADOUKEN!’ as a reference to Street Fighter.

We’re not entirely sure why he did it, but it still made for fantastic viewing!

Ederson however, didn’t look too pleased.