The Citizens had to settle for a 0-0 draw against the competition’s finalists two seasons ago.
Substitute Ilkay Gundogan did have one or two chances to win the game for City, but they had to settle for a home point.
“Well, a very intense game against a very strong opponent. We knew what was coming,” Dias stated post-game.
“They’re a top team as well, they used to win. Obviously, we would not have an easy job. In the end, the team had a great performance. We were very close to scoring.
“But yeah, we’ll take it and move forward. It was a very good test for us to play against such a strong side.
“Gundo had two (chances), one with Phil as well. Some others that came up too, but these three were clear ones. It happens, it’s football. We’re here for what’s next.
“We know they can be dangerous in many different scenarios. They have players who know how to keep the ball very well. Also in transitions they can be dangerous too. We know them very well especially since the final we played against them. We knew the different ways that they could hurt us. In the end, we are who we are, we played the game that we play and in the end, we dealt with it.
“The season just started. Like the manager said when we came back from international break that pre-season just finished. It’s very early ages. We know what we are as a team.
“These (clean sheets) are the ones we love. These ones make it mean more, in terms of keeping a clean sheet. We’re happy with the work we did in the back.
“Today I think we were on a very good level. We could have scored, we had the chances but that’s football. There’s a lot of margin to progress from our side.”