Ruben Dias Is 'Better Than Virgil Van Dijk' After Colossal Defensive Performance Vs PSG

Manchester City defender Ruben Dias has been labelled as 'better than Virgil van Dijk' following a fantastic performance vs Paris Saint-Germain.

City defeated the Parisians 2-0 on the night and 4-1 on aggregate to advance to their first-ever Champions League final later this month.

Dias was a standout player and he's continued his red-hot form since arriving from Benfica last summer.

It has seen him compared to Liverpool star Virgil van Dijk - with 'brick wall' Dias now surpassing the currently injured Dutchman

"I thought they were absolutely brilliant. As bad as PSG were, you could argue that Man City made them look bad, City were fantastic," talkSPORT's Andy Goldstein explained.

"Ruben Dias, my goodness what a defender he is. Is he the best defender in the Premier League?

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"I think he is. I think he's better than Virgil van Dijk. I think he's fantastic.

"This Ruben Dias is a rock. He will die for the badge."

Dias blocked absolutely everything that came his way on Tuesday evening and has formed a reliable partnership with John Stones.

He is nowhere near as athletic as van Dijk, but Jamie Carragher broke down why that makes the 23-year-old 'more impressive' in his eyes.

"I love him. I think he's been the best player in the Premier League this season, I really do believe that. I think he's had a huge effect on Manchester City," Carragher said on CBS Sport per Metro.

"Even when he speaks and you watch him play you can't believe he's 23.

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"When you are a centre-back and a great centre-back - and he is a great centre-back - the great ones just don't play their own game, they almost play other people's games and they're always talking to people, moving people about and they're in charge of a back-four.

"John Stones next to him is 27-28 and you feel like it's the other way around with John Stones and that's no disrespect to John Stones. Just looking at the stats, 31 clean sheets this season and you've got to go back to the 28th minute of the first leg for the last time PSG had a shot on target.

"In the other semi-final you've got two of the greatest centre-backs of their generation hopefully playing in Thiago Silva and [Sergio] Ramos, they're coming towards the end.

"We have seen van Dijk over the last couple of years win the Champions League. I think the new breed is coming and this guy [Dias] is a massive part of it. The biggest thing for a centre-back, in terms of body position, I think he's the best by a long way in the Premier League."

When asked if Dias could reach van Dijk's level in the future, Carra replied: "Without a doubt. I think in his first season that he has produced at Man City, I think he's at that level. What I would say is that van Dijk has been blessed with physical attributes that Dias hasn't so in some ways I'm more impressed with Dias.

"When you watch van Dijk, it's like watching a Rolls-Royce, you just think the way he moves. 'Most players don't have that and Dias probably hasn't got that so probably has to concentrate more and be side on constantly."

Topics: Manchester City, Liverpool, Football, Premier League, Virgil Van Dijk, Ruben Dias, Champions League

Daniel Marland

Daniel is a journalist for SPORTbible and he has previous experience with Manchester United. He has spoken to some of the biggest names in sport including Rio Ferdinand, Peter Crouch, WWE COO Triple H and WWE legend The Undertaker. May or may not do a decent impression of Jamie Carragher.

@DanMarland_