Stones hails ‘outrageous’ De Bruyne

UNLIKELY goal hero John Stones labelled assist king Kevin De Bruyne ‘outrageous’ after Manchester City threatened to take charge of the title race. Stones had never found the net in the Premier League since joining City in 2016, until last night’s double during the four-goal rout of Crystal Palace. Victory hauled City just two points behind neighbours and leaders Manchester United with a game in hand, as Pep Guardiola hunts for a third Premier League crown at the Etihad. Stones headed his first after De Bruyne’s stunning cross with the outside of his right foot, the Belgian’s 100th assist since arriving at the club, before the floodgates opened in the second half. The England defender said: ‘Kevin has done that over the years he has been here, some outrageous passes where you think, “I don’t know how he’s done that”. ‘It came straight to me. It’s something we can only dream of and he can do it when he wants. ‘I put pressure on 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 contributing factor to the club’s upturn in fortunes. The pair have conceded just one goal in 10 matches when starting alongside each other in all competitions. ‘If we can keep clean sheets, we don’t have to come out and score four goals every week,’ Stones added. ‘The whole team deserve credit for how they press and stop attacks coming through to us. ‘Ruben has been great, he deserves a lot of credit since he’s come in and he’s adapted well to the Premier League. It’s been great for me to play alongside him. He’s so easy to get on with on and off the pitch. It’s just clicked. When it happens like that, you enjoy your football and I’m definitely enjoying it with him. ‘We know our capabilities and everyone from the outside does as well. Our mentality is one step at a time and how we can affect the game in front of us. Today was another step closer to what we want to achieve, which is the Premier League title back.’