Battle for Champions League places all about desire, says Dias | OneFootball

Ruben Dias believes the battle to secure Champions League football next season will be won by the teams who most want the prize of European football.

City play host to Aston Villa on Tuesday night in what will be a crucial Premier League clash in terms of the race to secure a top-five finish – and with it a guaranteed place in next season’s Champions League.

Going into the game just three points separate third-placed Nottingham Forest (60) from Villa in seventh (57) in what’s shaping up to be the most intense and competitive top five fight in years, with City sitting fourth on 58 points after last Saturday’s huge 2-0 win at Everton.

With just five games of the league season remaining, it means there is precious little margin for error for every team.

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And for Dias, the overriding factor that will help determine who claims the prized seats at Europe’s top table is a simple one.

“It is going to be tight and at the end of the day it is down to whoever wants it the most,” the Portuguese central defender declared.

“We know it is not going to be easy, but we are fighting for this qualification.

“We will do everything that we can to get it.

“Obviously we are feeling good [after the Everton game].

“It was a very difficult game and we knew it was going to be difficult.

“Few teams have been able to win there and especially in this moment every point matters the world to us right now.”

After being a pivotal part of the City team that made history by becoming the first English men’s side to win four consecutive top-flight titles, Dias admits that the 2024/25 campaign has been a challenging one for Pep Guardiola’s squad.

A tough run of injuries to key personnel alongside a challenging spell across the winter saw the side’s title challenge slip away.

Meanwhile City also exited the Champions League after a last-16 play-off loss to Real Madrid.

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However, City are still in the hunt for the FA Cup with a Wembley semi-final assignment with Nottingham Forest looming on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Dias and Co will also be going for glory in this summer’s new-look FIFA Club World Cup 2025 to be held in the United States.

And for his part, the Portuguese international believes the lessons learnt this term will only prove to be vital looking to the long term.

“It was not our best year in many levels, but we take the lessons, and we look forward to the future,” Dias added.

“It has generally been a more difficult season overall.I have won the Premier League in my first four years, but I still take [this season] into a good place because we were the first club ever to win the Premier League four times in a row.

“Just that alone says it is not easy to do it anyway, even more doing it four times in a row.

“We take this year as it is.”