Dias: We’ll learn plenty from Messi showdown
RUBEN DIAS believes Manchester City will have learned valuable lessons from testing themselves against Lionel Messi, despite their Champions League defeat at Paris Saint-Germain – and insists the result has no bearing on Sunday’s showdown with Liverpool.
Messi scored a superb first goal since his summer move from Barcelona as PSG gained some revenge for last season’s semifinal loss with a 2-0 victory in their group clash on Tuesday.
Despite the defeat, which saw City slip to third in Group A behind Bruges and PSG, defender Dias felt the Premier League champions could take a lot of positives from
The loss affects nothing – we know what we need to do at Anfield to win
the game. The Portuguese said: ‘If you want to be at the top, if you want to be No.1, you need to play against some of the best.
‘I would say that is the best you can have. It is always challenging and it is always good to be able to prove yourself to yourself. As a team it is always special to play these games.
‘We are disappointed because we demand everything we can from ourselves, individually and collectively. If we don’t take a win we will never be satisfied, even though we made a good game.
‘We know that in the ultimate instant what matters is winning but the team performed and we created chances. We will take the “goods” and the “bads” and we will get better.’
Messi had been a doubt ahead of the game but grabbed the headlines with his sublime strike, which added to an early effort in Paris from Idrissa Gueye.
The six-time world player of the year had made a slow start to his PSG career, failing to find the net in his first three appearances.
There had been questions over whether the much-vaunted front trio of Messi, Neymar and Mbappe would click. But Messi said: ‘The more we forwards play together the better our relationship will be. We all need to grow together and improve and keep giving our best.’
Pep Guardiola’s City are back in action at Premier League title rivals Liverpool on Sunday.
And Dias does not believe their frustration in the French capital will have any relevance on their tough trip to Merseyside.
He added: ‘It affects nothing. We know what we are capable of and know our identity. We know what we need to do at Anfield to win.
‘It is a loss and we are frustrated but that is the good habit of being a top team. We will take it but in no time will be there again.’