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Manchester City star impressed Carragher more than Van Dijk

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After his impressive display against PSG, one of Manchester City’s stars was compared to Virgil van Dijk by Jamie Carragher. 

Jamie Carragher was wildly impressed by Jamie Carragher when the Dutch defender dominated for Liverpool during two full seasons. After his injury, the Reds weren’t able to find the same level of balance this season. In a similar story, Pep Guardiola decided to request a new defender right after falling 5-2 against Leicester City back in September. That reinforcement was Ruben Dias.

A player who completely changed Manchester City’s fate as soon as he arrived. Alongside John Stones, the Portuguese player hit the ground running and formed one of the best defensive duos in recent memory. Jamie Carragher even dared to compare Dias’ influence to Van Dijk’s from last season. Perhaps this could be the initial moments of a Ballon d’Or campaign for the Portuguese defender. 

Carragher thinks Dias is better than Van Dijk. 

This is what Carragher said on CBS Sports: “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. Even when he speaks and you watch him play you can’t believe he’s 23. 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. 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 center-back, in terms of body position – I think he’s the best [at it] by a long way in the Premier League.”

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