Manchester City drew 3-3 with Real Madrid at the Bernabeu in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final – and John Stones was left impressed by one of his teammates after the game.
City played out a thriller with the Spanish giants, and Pep Guardiola will be pleased with the end result considering what went down in the game.
City found themselves 2-1 down in the first-half, having initially taken the lead, with Real Madrid showing great character to respond instantly.
They got lucky with the finishes from Eduardo Camavinga and Rodrygo, and City were then quite vulnerable to the counter-attack.
But City showed great character of their own, finding goals through Phil Foden – whose effort was lauded by Gary Lineker – and Josko Gvardiol.
Sadly, they could not hold out for the victory as Fede Valverde scored late on. But a 3-3 draw is certainly not a bad result to be taking back to the Etihad.
After the game, John Stones and Ruben Dias were left impressed by one of their City teammates in particular…
John Stones sends message to Phil Foden on Instagram after stunning goal and performance for Manchester City against Real Madrid
Foden is once again the talk of the town after his exploits against Real Madrid.
The 23-year-old wasn’t quite at his amazing best, but he still came in clutch for City – as he has done many times already this season.
The £225,000-a-week star lashed in a strike from the edge of the box into the top corner, giving Andriy Lunin absolutely no chance.
It was a goal of the highest quality, and one that stands up against the sensational goal Kevin De Bruyne scored in the semi-final first leg last season.
The strike was Foden’s 22nd goal of the season, and up there with the best he has ever scored.
It left his teammate John Stones impressed, with the defender commenting on Foden’s latest Instagram post after the game. Foden captioned the post ‘Class night in Madrid, top support as usual. Onto the next one’, with Stones sending the fire and clapping emojis.
Dias was also blown away, and simply sent a magician’s hat emoji.
Foden stands up and delivers again
Thierry Henry said after last night’s game that Foden has now become ‘world-class’ because he is taking the team on his shoulders.
Foden has continually stepped up this season, especially in the absence of Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland.
The England international has been a joy to watch, and he is clearly relishing playing in that central role.
You can just tell that he is playing with supreme confidence every time he steps out onto the field and long may that continue. While he is in this kind of form, it’s difficult to see City ever losing a game.