STONES AND CO TOOK INSPIRATION FROM BELL

JOHN STONES said Manchester City were inspired by the memory of Colin Bell last night as they booked their place in the Carabao Cup final with Tottenham on April 25.

The 26-year-old defender scored his first goal for more than three years as Pep Guardiola’s men beat neighbours United 2-0 at Old Trafford, with Fernandinho hitting a late second. And Stones felt the way City played was a reflection of how stylish midfielder Bell played the game in the 1960s and ’70s.

Paying tribute to his fellow England international, who died on Tuesday aged 74, Stones said: ‘I’d like to send our condolences to Colin Bell and his family. I think how we played today was a reflection of him.

‘A great moment for us and hopefully he is looking down on us. ‘It was a great occasion, another win against another of the top teams. We had so many chances, great chances, great moves to get into the box and we did the job.’

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer denied there was anything psychological about the fact United have now lost four semi-finals under his command. ‘It’s not psychological,’ he said. ‘Sometimes you meet good teams in the semis. At the moment, City are probably the best team in England.’ Solskjaer was not happy with the goals United lost, however.

‘City can score many great goals. You can accept that,’ he added. ‘But when you concede two simple set-plays, it’s very disappointing.

‘We didn’t create enough big chances. They didn’t either. We weren’t good enough today.’