They employ the best in the business, including set-piece experts who helped construct the move that led to John Stones' clever opening goal
John Stones stole in to open the scoring at Anfield from Kevin De Bruyne's corner(Image credit: Getty Images)
Manchester City were able to take the lead away to title rivals Liverpool through an innovative set-piece routine that resulted in John Stones finishing at the near post.
Although the reigning champions were pegged back early in the second half by Alexis Mac Allister's penalty, a lot of post-match discussion centred on the well-worked corner that put them in front.
As Nathan Ake held off Mac Allister, Kevin De Bruyne swung the ball low and hard into the space that opened up. Stone ghosted in and managed to squeeze his shot past Caoimhin Kelleher.
While some pundits questioned the legality of Ake's block, many were quick to praise the way in which City engineered such a good opportunity to score.
Interviewed after the game, Stones gave the credit to one of Pep Guardiola's assistants, who is responsible for overseeing set pieces alongside analyst Jack Wilson.
Carlos Vicens watching the Manchester City players warm up (Image credit: Getty Images)
“Carlos (Vicens) worked hard on it in training as we do every week,” said Stones, who is aiming to win his sixth Premier League title since moving to the Etihad.
“We spotted this and yesterday we worked on it and it came off which was pleasing for me to get on the scoresheet, my first one of the season and to get off the mark in a big game as well.”
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Vicens and Wilson were also praised by Guardiola after De Bruyne's free kick set up Julian Alvarez to score in January's 3-1 win over Burnley.
Who are Carlos Vicens and Jack Wilson?
Vicens joined Man City as a youth coach in 2017 and was promoted to working with the first team four years later, where he has had a big impact on the club's impressive record from dead-ball situations.
Wilson previously worked for Hearts and Dundee United. He was recruited from Brentford in November 2022 as a set-piece performance analyst.
Sean Cole is a freelance journalist. He has written for FourFourTwo, BBC Sport and When Saturday Comes among others. A Birmingham City supporter and staunch Nikola Zigic advocate, he once scored a hat-trick at St. Andrew’s (in a half-time game). He also has far too many football shirts and spends far too much time reading the Wikipedia pages of obscure players.
