Dias reflects on "intense" Inter draw | OneFootball

Dias reflects on "intense" Inter draw | OneFootball

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·18 September 2024

Dias reflects on "intense" Inter draw

Article image:Dias reflects on "intense" Inter draw

Ruben Dias believes the goalless draw with Inter Milan in our opening UEFA Champions League league phase clash was a great test for Pep Guardiola's men.

Substitute Ilkay Gundogan had the best chances of the game inside the last ten minutes, heading over on both occasions from close-range.


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Josko Gvardiol and Phil Foden also came close, but both were denied effectively by Inter goalkeeper Yann Sommer.

Dias, who played the entire 90 minutes at the Etihad Stadium, was content with the team's overall performance in the tense encounter.

"Well, a very intense game against a very strong opponent. We knew what was coming," he said. "They’re a top team as well, they used to win. Obviously, we would not have an easy job. In the end, the team had a great performance. We were very close to scoring.

"But yeah, we’ll take it and move forward. It was a very good test for us to play against such a strong side.

"Gundo had two [chances], one with Phil as well. Some others that came up too, but these three were clear ones. It happens, it’s football. We’re here for what’s next.

"We know they can be dangerous in many different scenarios. They have players who know how to keep the ball very well. Also in transitions they can be dangerous too. We know them very well especially since the final we played against them. We knew the different ways that they could hurt us. In the end, we are who we are, we played the game that we play and in the end, we dealt with it.

"The season just started. Like the manager said when we came back from international break that pre-season just finished. It’s very early ages. We know what we are as a team.

"These [clean sheets] are the ones we love. These ones make it mean more, in terms of keeping a clean sheet. We’re happy with the work we did in the back.

"Today I think we were on a very good level. We could have scored, we had the chances but that’s football. There’s a lot of margin to progress from our side."

Guardiola's men have a few days to rest and recuperate ahead of this Sunday's crunch Premier League clash with Arsenal at the Etihad.

Dias is looking ahead to the encounter and believes it will be another stern test for the team early on in the campaign.

"Well, [we need to] take the rest we need. We know Arsenal very well, they know us very well, and obviously it will be a very intense game.

"It’s still early stages, but it’s never too early to play a clash like this. We’ll be there. We’ll be ready."

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