Manchester City got their 2024/25 Premier League campaign off to a winning start last weekend.
On Sunday, the Citizens took on Chelsea away from home and managed to walk away with all three points after beating Enzo Maresca’s side.
Erling Haaland put the Manchester club ahead before a second-half strike from former Chelsea midfielder Mateo Kovacic sealed the win for Pep Guardiola’s team.
Following this victory, one particular City player found himself on the end of some significant praise for his efforts in the match from someone who knows all about what it takes to be a high-level player in the Premier League.
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Alan Shearer hails Ruben Dias for Chelsea performance
After picking Ruben Dias in his Team of the Week, Alan Shearer had this to say on the official Premier League website about the defender’s performance at Stamford Bridge.
He said: “Produced a dominant performance in the heart of Man City’s defence. Kept Chelsea’s forwards quiet all afternoon.”
Dias was vital in Chelsea victory
Dias had 81 touches of the ball in total against Chelsea and was able to accurately complete 69 of the 71 passes he attempted, leaving him with a passing accuracy percentage of 97%, the highest in the entire City team.
In addition to that, the 27-year-old, who City paid £65m to sign from Benfica back in 2020, made two clearances, two interceptions and one tackle to help his side keep their first clean sheet of the new league campaign.
The centre-back also won all three duels he was involved in as well as managing to not get dribbled past on even one occasion, in addition to not giving any fouls away throughout the match.
This showcases how vital he is for the team and why it was recently reported that City are eager to see Dias sign a contract extension at the club.
It also makes it easy to see why Shearer picked the Portuguese international to be in his first Team of the Season.
