Man City defender & Pep Guardiola disagree about dealing with Real Madrid fab four | OneFootball

Manchester City centre-back Ruben Dias claimed that he and his teammates "have all we need to be able to look after" Vinicius Junior and his fellow Real Madrid forwards when the two clubs clash in the Champions League on Tuesday night.

City boss Pep Guardiola is not so confident.

Dias may very well be part of a backline tasked with not only muzzling Vinicius, but also Kylian Mbappe, Rodrygo and Jude Bellingham. That lofty quartet boasts 60 goals between them across all competitions this season.

Despite their formidable reputation, Dias was unfazed.

"When you get to this level of the Champions League, that's what you get from Madrid or everyone else," he told assembled media on Monday. "We know they have the special ability to be more flexible maybe than most other teams, which is why we have to be really good and more solid at the back.

"The more solid we can be, the more comfortable we will be in the game."

Ruben Dias (left) came up against Vinicius Junior and co last season / Marc Atkins/GettyImages

City are no strangers to coming up against Real Madrid. This is the fifth time in six seasons that the two European giants have locked horns in the knockout stages of the Champions League.

When faced with the particularly potent threat of Vinicius, Guardiola has previously been able to lean upon the experience and pace of Kyle Walker. That is no longer an option following his loan exit to AC Milan.

Dias conceded that the formerly jet-heeled skipper was "a player we all relied on" and someone who "was always one to show up and show his face", but insisted that City still have "options" to snuff out Madrid's threat.

"We're not thinking about one player alone, those individual duels will be important, but it will be the collective actions, how we play as a collective. We have all we need to be able to look after him."

Guardiola was of an entirely different opinion. "It's impossible in 90/120/200 minutes to control these players," the City boss admitted. "They are exceptional - how they combine, the runners, the ability one against one, how they keep the ball, all four are exceptional. Everybody knows it, so you have to reduce that involvement as much as possible, knowing that it's going to happen, accept it."

Dias and the rest of City's defensive will have the chance to prove their manager wrong when Madrid travel to the Etihad for Tuesday night's first leg ahead of the decisive reverse fixture next week.