Strong as a rock

Safe and determined when approaching all the plays he took part in the “clássico” won by Benfica against FC Porto, Rúben Dias was the leader of the defensive line, always closing the door to his opponents. An outstanding performance, reinforced by the statistics, in a victory that took the eagles back to the leadership of Liga NOS, in round 7.

Unbeatable in tackles, Rúben Dias even won 14 clashes (of 17), blocked a shot, did two clearances and two interceptions, in accordance with the Sofascore data.

The Benfica’s defender only committed a foul in 90 minutes (plus added time). On the other side, the player suffered two fouls.

Accurate in the defensive actions, Rúben Dias was also precise and refined with the ball on his feet, with a pass efficiency close to 80%.

In a very tight “clássico” and with only a few goal chances, the Portuguese international risked ten long passes and was successful in five of them, not forgetting to enhance the number of ball losses: zero!

The center-back, trained at Caixa Futebol Campus is one of the 11 players provided by Benfica's squad to the different national teams in this break.

A month ago, in the previous matches of the Portuguese national team, Rúben Dias was a starter in the friendly against Croatia and in the official match against Italy (Nations League), playing a total of 180 minutes.

Text: João Sanches

Pics: Isabel Cutileiro and João Paulo Trindade / SL Benfica