Impressive Dias is having huge influence already at the Blues
THE most striking thing about Ruben Dias since his move to City this season has been how quickly he has assumed responsibilities.
His skills as a centre-back have helped sort the defence out, but from the moment he arrived from Benfica he appeared to make it a personal mission of his to turn around the fortunes of a team.
For a 23-year-old coming to a new, better team in a new, better league, how quickly and emphatically he has settled has been utterly remarkable. As eye-catching as his no-frills style is not.
As M.E.N. Sport has previously reported, Dias’ team-mates were swift to notice how the player carried himself - and others - in training and in matches, and Pep Guardiola has spoken enthusiastically about the summer signing, even if he has tried to dampen Vincent Kompany comparisons.
Joao Cancelo’s comments last week, especially given he has been a team-mate of Cristiano Ronaldo for club and country, are worth paying attention to.
“Ruben Dias is a player with a strong mindset, probably the player with the strongest mentality that I have played with,” he said. “He is a born leader. It’s a pleasure to play along with him. He is a great player and he is going to show it even more at Manchester City.”
There was more evidence of that in the Premier League win over Brighton on Wednesday when the Blues were awarded an indirect free-kick in the box following a backpass in the 27th minute. Given how rarely they occur in football, and how chaotic they ensue with 11 defenders plus attackers cramming into a tiny space of the pitch, they take some thinking about.
Kevin de Bruyne, club vicecaptain and skippering the team that night with Fernandinho on the bench, took
charge with him also being the prime candidate to take the shot on goal. Bernardo Silva and Riyad Mahrez, two players on the pitch for their creativity in the attacking third, also got involved. And then there was Dias.
City’s No.3 ended up with no part in the move other than trying to stand in the way of the wall, but the centre-back was at the heart of discussions over what to do as the quartet deliberated over the best way to find a way through.
Ultimately, the move came to nothing with De Bruyne’s effort blocked and the danger passed, but the way it was constructed showed the growing influence that Dias is having as an important voice in the team despite being the newest arrival.
City needed as much leadership as possible to see out the win, and will be encouraged by that as they look to move right to the very top of the Premier League table and stay there.