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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Sport
Daniel Murphy

Man City fans call for John Stones to be dropped after Carabao Cup final mistake

Manchester City fans have called for young defender Eric Garcia to get more game time for the club following another mistake by John Stones.

City were looking likely to win their first piece of silverware of the season and win the Carabao Cup for the third consecutive time after a dominant first-half performance in the final against Aston Villa.

The Blues dominated the proceedings and took a deserved 2-0 lead thanks to goals from Sergio Aguero and Rodri, though the latter came from a corner that shouldn't have been awarded.

Everything seemed to be under control as half-time approached but a costly error from Stones would give Villa a route back into the game.

An innocuous long ball was lofted towards the City back-line and the England international looked certain to head it clear, but as the ball dropped he fell to the ground allowing Anwar El Ghazi to run through and send a brilliant cross into the box for Mbwana Samatta to head home.

It's yet another error from Stones who has struggled for form over the last two seasons, showing why he wasn't even on the bench for Wednesday's victory over Real Madrid.

Fans have grown frustrated with the errors and want to see teenager Garcia, who has impressed in his 11 first-team appearances this season, move above Stones in the pecking order.

You can see a selection of their reactions below:

Stones' inclusion was one of eight changes manager Pep Guardiola made for the final and the Blues boss explained that he made the changes to 'make everyone feel involved'.

"It's better to be here than not be here," he told Sky Sports.

"I trust a lot with all the squad and I wanted to make everybody feel involved. That's why. I pick a selection to win the game, that's fresh, for mentality."

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