Ruben Dias was present during a press conference on Monday ahead of City's Champions League play-off tie against Real Madrid. The defender reflected on last year's defeat to 'Los Blancos' while also speaking on Walker and the Haaland-Mbappe duel.
Man City captain Ruben Dias was present alongside Pep Guardiola for a pre-match press conference ahead of the first leg of the Champions League play-off tie against Real Madrid at the Etihad Stadium. Despite City's struggles this season, the Portuguese defender was positive that his side still have a shot at achieving "something beautiful".
"Since I have been here this is maybe the most difficult season so far, but I am a firm believer that in the most difficult scenario, you can still achieve something beautiful," Dias told reporters on Monday. "We know it will be difficult to get there but we have to believe in what we have in the dressing room... With the right belief, we are able to do anything."
The Citizens have gone up against the 'Merengues' various times over the past few seasons, with the fixture already establishing itself as a modern European classic. Man City lost out to Ancelotti's men in last year's edition of the Champions League quarter-finals in a dramatic tie that was decided with a penalty shootout. "Last year was frustrating because we dominated the game and even so we weren't able to score the goal that would have made a difference," added the centre-back.
Speaking on what the Sky Blues can do to avoid defeat this time round, the 27-year-old said: "We understand how good we need to be to win this game. We know who we are facing - a team that plays differently from us. They won't make it easy. We need to do what we do better than ever. The first error we can make is to relax because of Real Madrid’s defensive absences. We have to be up to their level and then maybe we can exploit that."