Manchester City have been going through a rough patch this season. Head coach Pep Guardiola had to manage an injury-riddled squad and deal with underwhelming performances for the better part of the ongoing campaign.
Man City dropped ranks in the Premier League table, crushing their hopes of bagging the title. They were also eliminated from the EFL Cup and Champions League, leaving the FA Cup as their only hope of silverware this season.
Guardiola’s clan are also fighting for a top-five finish in the Premier League to ensure a spot in the Champions League for the next campaign. This decline in Man City’s form, especially in comparison to past seasons, has brought in a lot of criticism.
Now, Man City are headed to lock horns with Crystal Palace in the FA Cup final on May 17, at Wembley Stadium. Ahead of this crucial game, Ruben Dias has hit back at the critics, claiming ‘there was a lot of talking’ with ‘very little reasoning behind most comments.’
What did Ruben Dias say ahead of Man City’s FA Cup final?
Dias has suffered his share of injuries this season, missing a total of 19 matches for club and country. The Portuguese star has contributed to 14 clean sheets in 38 appearances for City in the ongoing campaign.
Speaking ahead of the FA Cup final, Dias addressed the criticism and told the Manchester Evening News that people ‘very easily forget the whole process and everything that was done.’
“There was a lot of talking and very little reasoning behind most of the comments. People love to go crazy and they very easily forget about the whole process and everything that was done,” he said.
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The 28-year-old spoke about the several injuries across the season that affected Man City’s displays on the pitch and hailed his side’s and club supporters’ ‘tremendous effort.’
“I’m not saying this as in not looking to the future because you must, but you also have to acknowledge that some players playing at the time were dealing with loads of injuries around them and had to play parts in which they were not even specific to certain positions,” said the defender.
“They gave tremendous effort and we all as City fans and everyone at the club should be grateful for those efforts. They were obviously troubled times for many reasons but you shouldn’t doubt each other because of a bad wave. That shows a weak house and we are a strong house. If anyone doubted, maybe they should learn a lesson for the future,” concluded Dias.
It remains to be seen if Guardiola & Co. are able to salvage their season by bringing home the FA Cup on Saturday.
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