We lacked an edge against Leverkusen, says Stones | OneFootball

John Stones believes the City squad were missing a few key components from their performance in the 2-0 UEFA Champions League defeat to Bayer Leverkusen.

Match Report

City suffer first Champions League loss at home to Bayer Leverkusen

Goals from Alejandro Grimaldo and Patrik Schick did the damage for the visitors at the Etihad Stadium, inflicting a first Champions League defeat of the season on Pep Guardiola’s side.

Stones was one of 10 changes to the starting line up by Pep from last weekend’s defeat to Newcastle United in the Premier League, and the defender believes the team uncharacteristically missed the required levels of attacking threat and aggression in the defeat.

“Lots of things [were missing]. You can dissect and look at it in so many different angles. I think all in all, we didn’t have that edge to us, the clinical edge, the aggressive edge, and we lacked in quite a few things which is very uncharacteristic for us as a team and players,” he said in an interview after the game.

“We’re all disappointed, I’m disappointed to have led the team out tonight and it to finish that way, from trying our best to break them down and working on it in training, we knew they were such a good team in possession and found it difficult at times to keep them in one area of the pitch and they got out.

“There were a lot of good things but it’s a night we need to reflect on massively.”

The defender was also quizzed on the mood inside the City dressing room, after we suffered a first Champions League group stage or league phase defeat at the Etihad Stadium since Lyon’s victory back in 2018.

“Not good,” he stated. “It’s a difficult one to summarise really. A lot of emotion, I think it’s going to have to be one we have to look back at.

“I think we weren’t good enough as a collective, created a lot of chances [and] we could be stood here, it could be 4 or 5-2.”