Ruben Dias suddenly recalls Enzo Maresca’s strict rule during Man City’s wild celebrations.
Manchester City captain Ruben Dias forgot to follow one of Enzo Maresca’s key rules after Erling Haaland’s winning goal in Sunday’s derby caused a bit of controversy.
City played with 10 men for 60 minutes after Phil Foden was sent off for reacting to Bruno Fernandes. Still, they managed a tough 1-0 win at Old Trafford thanks to Haaland’s goal in the second half. At first, the goal was ruled offside, but a VAR review showed Haaland was actually onside. The goal stood even though Enzo Fernandez tried to head the ball while offside during the build-up.
Pro Ref later said the decision to award the goal was wrong. Haaland was sure he was onside and got ready to celebrate his ninth goal in a Manchester derby.
The City players celebrated in front of their fans, but captain Dias played an important role. Video clips showed that while he first ran to join his teammates, he quickly changed direction. Instead of celebrating with everyone, he went to get tactical instructions from Maresca on the sidelines.
Dias became Maresca’s captain after Bernardo Silva left, joining other leaders like Marc Guehi, Gianluigi Donnarumma, and Haaland. One of his jobs is to check in with Maresca every time City score, so he can pass on new instructions to the team.
Caught up in the excitement of the derby goal, Dias briefly forgot this rule before remembering it. Maresca first started this rule when he coached at Leicester and Chelsea, and he brought it to City in pre-season. Speaking in Seoul, Maresca said, “Even if it’s just two or three minutes in, there’s always something to adjust.”
Maresca also joked that Dias doesn’t have to follow this rule if he scores, because celebrating is important. He said, “But if the captain scores, then he can celebrate. If Erling is the captain, f****** hell, we have a problem. Can you imagine?”
After Foden’s red card, City actually played better. Bringing on Iliman Ndiaye at halftime helped them move the ball faster and frustrate United by limiting their counterattacks. At the same time, City stayed dangerous when they had the ball.
Maresca shared that after the goal, he told Dias to keep an eye on Bruno Fernandes and limit his chances. He explained to ViaPlay, “Right after the goal, it was so important to manage those five minutes and keep going the same way. I told Ruben we need one player to watch Bruno. When Enzo was on the field, he handled Bruno, and Nico took over because he’s their main player.”
Since Maresca took over, City have won every game except the Community Shield loss to Arsenal. They’re back in action on Thursday against Norwich in the Carabao Cup, and then they host Sunderland in the Premier League on Sunday.