John Stones will be suspended for the Carabao Cup final on Sunday against Tottenham at Wembley, as City, also in the semi-finals of the Champions League, aim to lift the first three potential trophies this season. It was a bad day for Stones as Manchester City defeated Aston Villa but his red card doesn’t cost City.
Stones is in good form this season, having made more appearances than in the 2019-20 Premier League, with his performance leading to the withdrawal from England from the national team after 16 months.
However, with the Three Lions boss Gareth Southgate in the stands, it was an unforgettable evening for the 26-year-old. He was caught in the first few seconds of the match when he failed to collect a long ball from his England teammate Tyrone Mings, allowing Watkins to set up McGinn for the fastest goal in the Premier League.
Stones was then shown to Ramsey near the centerline for a reckless challenge and a straight red card in front of two digs. After checking in with assistant referee Jared Gillett, field referee Peter Banks observed an incident on a monitor and showed Stones a red card, although Guardiola was unhappy with the decision and showed it to the officials.
43. RED CARD | John Stones is sent off for a high tackle on Ramsey.
🦁 1-2 🔷 #ManCity | https://t.co/axa0klD5re pic.twitter.com/3g8BSVpnxK
— Manchester City (@ManCity) April 21, 2021
With the City’s advantage, Villa’s Douglas Luiz made a direct 25-meter effort over Ederson, but the match returned to the city after two cash picks on Foden, the second of which was a slippery challenge that ended the England midfielder close to the contact line done.
Since then, City dominated possession and now needs three more league wins to become England’s champions for the seventh time in their history. City will miss Stones, who has been suspended from the match, as they play Tottenham at Wembley in the Carabao Cup final on Sunday (16:30 BST), before taking on Villa in the Premier League match on West Brom that day (19:00).
