Manchester City's 12-game winning run in the Premier League came to an end with a 1-1 draw against Southampton on Saturday, but there were still positives to take from the contest.
Pep Guardiola's side recovered from a poor opening 30 minutes to dominate in the second half, and if it wasn't for wastefulness in front of goal the streak would probably have continued.
It was particularly impressive was how City overcame Southampton's creativity-stifling structure and managed to pen the hosts in their own half. While the usual suspects like Kevin De Bruyne and Jack Grealish played a part in this, it was centre-back - and captain for the day - Ruben Dias who set the tone for City re-asserting control at Saint Mary's.
As illustrated by @city_tactics in an excellent Twitter thread, Dias' positioning and aggressive approach to winning the ball back allowed City to keep Southampton under near-constant pressure.
Whenever the Blues lost the ball deep in Southampton's half, Ralph Hasenhuttl's side looked to counter by playing the ball into the feet of one of the strikers who had dropped deep.
To nip this in the bud, Dias tracked the retreating striker so high up the pitch that he was practically on the edge of the penalty area. He aggressively stepped in to nick the ball back, his advanced position meaning that City were already in the attacking third and back in possession.
Dias is never shy about going in to challenge his man, even if he appears to be second favourite to win the ball. If he doesn't win back possession then he will at least disrupt the play, fouling the ball carrier or forcing him to pass backwards, thus slowing down any building counter-attack.
It's a risky strategy that can leave holes in City's defence if it goes wrong, but when it works it allows City to win back the ball in dangerous areas of the pitch and demoralise the opposition through constant pressure.
As @city_tactics pointed out, it was a trick that City legend and former captain Vincent Kompany used to great effect. But this isn't the only way that Dias is proving to be the heir to Kompany's throne.
The Portugal international has only been at the club for 16 months, but in that time he has quickly become a respected member of the dressing room. His quick rise through the leadership ranks - at the start of the season he was voted in as City's third-choice captain ahead of Kevin De Bruyne - shows his importance both on and off the pitch.
While Dias is not quite as important to this City team as Kompany was to the sides he played in - the Blues often looked shaky in his absence - that is probably more testament to the quality of City's other central defenders, coupled with Guardiola's possession-based strategy that limits the impact felt by the absence of City's best defender.
Like Kompany, Dias is a natural leader, is good on the ball and is perfectly suited to defending in a Guardiola team. But also like Vinny, above all he relishes the gritty side of his craft.
"I'm a defender, I'm there to defend," Dias said last year. "If not me, then who else will take pride from defending? It gives me pleasure to make the other team feel powerless."
A defender worthy of following in Kompany's footsteps, and one day captaining the Blues, if ever we've seen one.
It takes a certain type to look good wearing an armband while bare-chested. Ruben has got this one down.
Do you think Ruben Dias is the heir to Vincent Kompany's throne at City? Follow our City Is Ours writer Alex Brotherton on Twitter to get involved in the discussion and give us your thoughts in the comments section below.
