Garth Crooks believes that Ruben Dias’ second-half block on Matteo Kovacic was crucial to Manchester City claiming all three points against Chelsea.
Writing in his weekly Team of the Week blog post, the BBC Sport pundit named both Dias and Aymeric Laporte in his defence. The two City defenders kept a clean sheet as the Manchester side got their revenge over Thomas Tuchel’s side.
A 1-0 win over Chelsea saw City climb up the Premier League table. Moreover, with Liverpool and Manchester United both dropping points, it was a huge result for Pep Guardiola’s side.
With Gabriel Jesus netting the sole goal of the game, the defending from Dias and Laporte was huge. And a second-half block on Kovacic from the Portuguese defender was massive in City keeping their clean sheet intact.
Indeed, Crooks seemed to agree that the defensive action from Dias was a turning point for City. The BBC pundit wrote: “The block on Mateo Kovacic said it all.
“The way Dias flew across the penalty area at a crucial point in the game to block what looked like a certain goal was immense. The Portugal defender was superb and looked like he was back to his best against Chelsea.”
With City faltering the previous weekend to Southampton, a win over the UEFA Champions League holders was exactly what the Manchester giants needed. Furthermore, with rivals in the division dropping points, it was the perfect weekend for Guardiola’s side.
Indeed, the result against Chelsea could have been different without Dias’ block. And the Portuguese defender deserves immense credit for his performance in west London against the Blues.
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