“I genuinely mean only what I mean” – Ruben Dias assesses Manchester City’s silverware prospects | OneFootball

Manchester City defender Ruben Dias has rated his side’s chances of winning silverware in their opening season under sporting director Hugo Viana.

Pep Guardiola’s ranks witnessed major upheaval in the summer transfer window as Viana made sweeping changes to a side that recorded a disappointing third-place Premier League finish last term, crashed out of the UEFA Champions League at the Round of 16 stage and lost the 2025 FA Cup final to Crystal Palace.

Viana signed off on the notable exits of Kevin De Bruyne, Ederson, Ilkay Gundogan, Kyle Walker and James McAtee as Manchester City made seven new signings to usher in a new era and build a side capable of winning major trophies in the seasons to come.

The Blues have turned a corner after an indifferent start to the 2025-26 campaign that saw them languishing in the bottom half of the Premier League table at the end of August, though the jury remains out on whether this new-look Manchester City squad can sustain their quest for silverware as the season progresses.

City cut the gap to Premier League leaders Arsenal to two points last week and after the Gunners won against Wolves on Saturday, Guardiola and co can keep up the pressure on the north Londoners with three points against Crystal Palace on Sunday.

Momentum has been an indispensable fuel to Manchester City’s title challenges under Guardiola over the years and the Blues received a major confidence boost in midweek after coming from behind to beat Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu in the UEFA Champions League.

Speaking in a new interview with Sky Sports, Manchester City defender Ruben Dias has assessed his side’s chances of finishing the 2025-26 campaign with silverware.

“I feel we’re in a very good place, but we can still be a lot better. If that’s 70% now and have 30% still to go, 80% and 20%, or whatever, I feel we can be even better,” the Portugal international said.

“That’s a good feeling to have at this time of the season. I feel we still have a few extra gears to go. But I acknowledge in this moment, I feel we’re strong, we can compete, seriously.

“I genuinely mean only what I mean, and that’s about us, about how strong we can be – that’s the only thing I’m referring to. We’re playing one game at a time, we want to develop ourselves one game at a time, and that’s the way we make our way.”

Dias opened the scoring for Manchester City from distance in a 3-0 win over Sunderland last week and has been a regular starter for the Blues in central defence this season, having signed a new, long-term deal at the Etihad Stadium in August.

The 28-year-old added: “We’re growing, I’m feeling us stronger. I feel we can still be stronger, and that’s a good feeling to have at this point. But I think right now, it will always be most difficult to make our head stay where we are, stay in the present.

“If you watch too much TV you get consumed, it’s very easy for your thoughts to get dragged into thinking of things you shouldn’t be thinking about.

“The biggest exercise I feel like we have to be making every single day is thinking about the next game only. We need to force ourselves to have that thought, because then I feel like we can be a lot stronger even.”

City has a wealth of title-winning experience in their dressing room – something Arsenal do not possess – and Dias, who is a member of the captaincy group at the Etihad Stadium – will be reminding his teammates that they need to take it one game at a time at what is still fairly early in the season.