After Manchester City drew 2-2 to Crystal Palace, Janusz Michallik claimed that Ruben Dias is “struggling” this season.
The pundit pinpointed Dias’ error for Mateta’s opener on Saturday in his post-match analysis of the game on ESPN UK.
The Portuguese centre-back seemed to be caught out at the back, handing Jeffrey Schlupp the space to set up his Crystal Palace teammate’s strike.
Janusz Michallik says Ruben Dias is “struggling” this season after Manchester City drew to Crystal Palace
After having an exceptional campaign and going on to win a treble, even fellow centre-halves like Micky van de Ven acknowledged that the 26-year-old was the best in the world in his position.
But as Tony Cascarino claimed earlier this month, the former Benfica defender has been quite “average” this season.
Janusz Michallik had his say on Ruben Dias after Manchester City dropped two vital points against Crystal Palace.
“I think defensively, it’s first [Manchester City’s problems this season]. It started with Ruben Dias. There were years where they were still good going forward, they were excellent under Pep Guardiola, yet, defensively, they had issues. They bought Ruben Dias and things have changed, very much like [Virgil] van Dijk at Liverpool.”
“Ruben Dias has been struggling, even today on that first goal, even with Kyle Walker, [he] had [Jean-Philippe] Mateta initially, I think Ruben Dias [has] got to react”, he told ESPN UK.
Ruben Dias needs to step his game up
Janusz Michallik is correct in observing Manchester City colossus Ruben Dias’ fault for the opening goal scored by Crystal Palace.
It is not the first time this season that Dias has made a mistake at the back as he has been quite error-prone this campaign.
It goes without saying that the three-time Premier League winner has enough credit in the bank, having been a revelation since signing for the Sky Blues in 2020.
While City have a plethora of top defenders at their disposal, Dias’ proficiency at defending inside the box coupled with his natural leadership makes him an irreplaceable cog in the side.
From day one, Ruben Dias has brought these qualities to the table, which has made him one of Manchester City’s most key players.
But if City aim to lift the Premier League title at the end of the season, the decorated defender will have to find a way to return to his best.
