‘City cannot dwell on end of quad dream’

JOHN STONES says Manchester City must pick themselves up quickly for the Carabao Cup final on Sunday after their quadruple dream came to an end on a controversial night at Wigan.

Stones says Manchester City have only themselves to blame for their shock FA Cup defeat at the DW Stadium where Will Grigg’s 79th minute goal created one of the competitions’ biggest ever upsets.

It was a night to forget for Pep Guardiola’s runaway Premier League’s leaders.

City failed to convert 83% possession and numerous attempts into a goal – it was only the third time this season in all competitions they have failed to score.

Stones said: “It’s our own fault we are out of the FA Cup. They got one chance and scored it. The feeling in the dressing room is one of massive disappointment.

“It’s a difficult one to take. We felt we should have got something out of the game – at least have taken them back to the Etihad for a replay. That’s been cut short now, the run in all four competitions, which we wanted to be in, right until the end, fighting for everything.”

City face Arsenal at Wembley on Sunday and Stones says they must recover quickly – mentally and physically.

“We’ve had that mindset that we can win every game and that’s probably why we have gone on such a good winning streak and not lost.

“I think it hurts even more that we’ve lost because we’re not used to it.

“We had only lost twice before this season and it hurts. The feeling of losing is never nice for anyone but I think we take it to heart a bit more.

“We have got to look at the game and make sure we take everything from it, good and bad. I think that is how we move forward and bounce back quick because we’ve got the chance to win some silverware at the weekend.”

Delph’s red card for a reckless tackle on Max Power gave Wigan an extra man advantage for the second half but Stones still felt City should have won and denied they had underestimated the League One side.

“Obviously the sending off was a big factor in the game but I thought we still deserved to get a replay at least,” he added. “You need 11 players on the pitch at all times. I can’t say whether it was a red card or not because I haven’t seen it.

“But I felt we stayed strong mentally and played our game with 10 men. I think everyone could see we were still the dominant team and creating chances, playing how everyone has seen us play all season.

“It is disappointing for me personally as a defender to see them come away with a 1-0 win. They’ve had hardly any chances on goal.” – Daily Star