Frank Leboeuf believes Ruben Dias, Kyle Walker and Manuel Akanji have not played as well as they did last season.
The Manchester City trio started in defence for their side during their 1-1 draw against Chelsea on Saturday.
Most notably, Kyle Walker erred for Raheem Sterling’s opener, as he continued to run towards Nicolas Jackson’s direction despite Manuel Akanji already following him.
The English right-back left Sterling in acres of space and by the time he caught up to his former City teammate, the Chelsea winger cut inside and slotted the ball past Ederson.
Frank Leboeuf says Ruben Dias, Kyle Walker and Manuel Akanji have not played as well as last season
As for Manuel Akanji, he has been unable to play as a centre-back or even as a makeshift right-back for much of the campaign unlike during his debut season at the Etihad Stadium.
Pep Guardiola has often deployed the Swiss international in midfield, with Craig Burley claiming in December that he is not having his best season.
Ruben Dias, who has made a couple of errors previously has started to return to his brilliant best in recent weeks.
But Frank Leboeuf remains unconvinced by the displays put in by Kyle Walker, Manuel Akanji and Ruben Dias so far this term in comparison to the 2022/2023 season.
“The level of [Ruben] Dias, [Kyle] Walker, [Manuel] Akanji as well is lower than last season. For sure. 100 per cent. It’s why maybe you have those results and the fact that they can’t keep a clean sheet”, he said on ESPN FC.
Ruben Dias could inspire his Manchester City colleagues
Considering Ruben Dias has been rock-solid off late, he could disprove Frank Leboeuf by inspiring Kyle Walker and Manuel Akanji to reach his standards.
The Portuguese centre-half is known to be a leader of men and as a result, it would not be a surprise to discover that he has demanded his teammates to up their levels, even apart from just Walker and Akanji.
By talking the talk and walking the walk, Dias could inspire his colleagues, especially at the back to step their performances up as City have entered a make-or-break stage of the season now.
