Ruben Dias has conceded that he would have liked his team to be travelling to Spain for their Champions League semi-final second leg against Real Madrid next week with a greater scoreline advantage.
Manchester City were dominant and had a number of opportunities to score more than four on the night. But last year’s finalists shipped three goals in a single game for the first time in the competition since the 6-3 win over RB Leipzig in September’s group stage opener.
However, Dias said there is still a good mood around camp after securing the win. “It's one final won and we need to win the second one next week in Madrid - the spirit is positive,” he told mancity.com.
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“We could have scored more, we could have conceded fewer goals, but we don't have time to reflect on that. This weekend we have another final against Leeds and after that, we will focus on Real Madrid again.
“We will take home a win. That is the major thing to think about Tuesday.”
Dias admitted that City should perhaps have earned more than a one-goal lead ahead of a tricky away leg. He added: “It is the semi-final of the Champions League and obviously we could have got a bigger difference instead of 1-0.
“Obviously the better the result, the better for us. But a semi-final and with the second leg in Madrid, the game was never going to be finished (after the first leg).
"No matter what happened, it would never be finished here in this first leg." He went on to deliver a defiant message ahead of the visit to Madrid.
The defender said: “We are aware of what team we are facing, the impact they have in the Champions League and the atmosphere at the Santiago Bernabeu.
"But we know our goal and what we need to achieve it. We are going to play with our personality and try to win.”
Dias vowed in the short-term to “focus on the Premier League” and their trip to Leeds. A win will either take them above Liverpool by a point again, or further stretch their lead at the summit depending on how the Reds fair against Newcastle earlier in the day.
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