Ruben Dias has issued a rallying call to his Manchester City teammates to show character during a ‘difficult moment’.
Dias and his teammates are enduring a torrid run of just one win in nine matches, which has seen them fall behind in their quest for a fifth successive Premier League.
In those nine games, City have conceded 22 goals, but Dias is refusing to dwell on the damning statistics and focus is solely on getting back on track.
“I guess that’s football, that’s life. Sometimes you have different obstacles, obstacles you don’t really expect and you have only one way to move forward which is to believe in yourself, be persistent and see the light.
“When I go home, whatever happens, the only thing that stays in my mind for a while is how are we going to move forward and our ways to stick together whatever people throw at us and whatever difficulties might come because football is about that as much as life is.
“It’s not an easy period and we are used to being in very different situations but this is football. I remember the treble season, even last season we had a tough period at some point.
“This is the time in which you show character, in which you show who you are. I’ve always believed that in the most difficult moments in life, you show your true colours and this is one of them.”
Under Pep Guardiola, City have been synonymous with being able to conjure up a run of results to catapult them back into contention to win trophies.
Dias has warned City’s rivals that if they regain their level, they will be hard to stop.
“If we’re on a good level, no one can stop us. Obviously we have people out, people coming in and injuries happening.
“But we know that if obviously if we have everyone available and even with not everyone available, if we find our rhythm we can be very very dangerous.
“With the team we have, I believe that more than anything else it is just about believing in ourselves, keeping the strength, keeping the focus on what’s ahead and not get dragged by whatever happened.”
Of critics suggesting that Guardiola’s side has run its course, with key players beyond the age of 30, Dias has called on his players to stand up and be counted against the ‘doubters’, citing this period as important to the club’s legacy as the trophies that preceded it.
“Isn’t that the beauty of all of it, I guess, the fact that people are wondering about it and once again we have another occasion to show up and do what we do.
“The fact that people doubt is the one thing as well that brings you strength, it’s the one thing that inspires you to be greater and greater.
“Now we’re talking about, obviously, winning, and winning tomorrow is the main focus, but in a way, we talk about our legacy. This is our legacy.
“More than the treble, the four in a row, all of it is spectacular, but I do believe that the one thing that defines a legacy is how you’ve reacted in the most difficult moment of your career.
“I’m a true believer that those moments are the ones that define you, so we embrace the difficult moments.”
Standing in City’s way of a resurgence is a Juventus side that has started the campaign indifferently.
Despite being unbeaten in Serie A, they are seven points off top spot and, like City, have eight points from their opening five Champions League games.
