Manchester City: Are we witnessing the best centre-back duo in the world?

Are Stones and Dias key to Manchester City’s success this season?

The excellent performance not just from Dias and Stones, but from the whole defensive line may be why Manchester City is one game away from winning the Premier League and a final away from winning the Champions League.

The backbone of this team is the defense. We cannot say the same for the past seasons. Guardiola’s side was always disappointed in the Champions League in the past seasons and most of their eliminations were because of how weak their defense was.

Now, we could compare the Ruben Dias signing to Van Dijk’s signing with Liverpool. When the Dutchman arrived at Anfield, Liverpool changed completely, winning one Premier League and one Champions League title.

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The Portuguese is steps away from changing Manchester City history winning the two most important trophies for an English club in his first season, with a clear impact on the team. He even has more blocked shots than Ederson in the elimination round of the Champions League.

Now, can he keep his form long-term? If he does so, we could be talking about the best upcoming center-back in the world.

Ruben Dias has established himself as the best center back above Sergio Ramos, Virgil Van Dijk, Raphael Varane, and Marquinhos this season.

These center-backs have been key players for their respective clubs and displayed a high level, but Dias has easily surpassed them all this year.

The Portuguese kept Mbappe and Neymar very quiet in both legs of the semifinals, which is not an easy task to do and not many center-backs are capable of. He ended up winning the MVP of the game in the second leg.

When Ruben Dias and John Stones are playing together, they have not conceded goals in consecutive games, which is a brilliant stat.

Also, they are excellent passers, which is almost a requirement in any Guardiola team and system. Stones has a 94.3% pass completion and Dias has a 93.8% pass completion, which for center-backs is a very high percentage.

When Guardiola lines up Stones and Dias, the Citizens has only conceded 9 goals in 24 games, another outstanding stat for Guardiola’s side.