What is the common point in all four defeats of Man City this season, in the Carabao Cup (against Newcastle) and in the Premier League (against Wolves, Arsenal and Aston Villa)? Answer: No Rodri!
City started the 2023/24 Premier League in perfect form, winning 6 consecutive matches. But the first big wobble appeared in the 7th round - away against Wolves, a match in which Rodri was absent due to suspension after a red card for "choking" a Nottingham Forest player. At Molineux, Man City lost 1-2. Two days later, The Citizens continued to lose, this time 0-1 at Arsenal Stadium.
Rodri returned and Man City had another series of victories, 5 consecutive matches in all competitions - including 3 Premier League rounds, defeating Brighton 2-1, Man United 3-0 and Bournemouth 6-1, before the team Pep Guardiola's team drew 3 consecutive matches against Big Six opponents: Chelsea (4-4), Liverpool (1-1) and Tottenham (3-3).
Three days after the draw with Tottenham, Man City faced the NO Rodri problem again. This time he was suspended for 1 match for receiving 5 yellow cards in the first leg of the football season. The opponent is Aston Villa, a team that has lost 13 (and drawn 2) in the last 15 matches against City in the Premier League.
Result: Man City lost 0-1, falling to 4th place in the Premier League rankings, in a match where Pep set the two worst records in his coaching career at the same time: fewest goals scored (2) and suffered the most shots from opponents (23).
See more: https://yeahscore.com/sport/football-1
Admittedly, the Spanish midfielder's influence since he arrived at the Etihad in 2019 has been enormous for Man City. Basic statistics show that Man City has a lower win rate and points efficiency, scores fewer goals and concedes more goals on average in the matches Rodri is absent.
Speaking after the comprehensive defeat at Villa Park, Pep Guardiola said: "Of course, Rodri is very important - but my task here is to find a way to win when Rodri is not present." But it can be seen that it is a problem that even a great strategist like Pep cannot find a good solution to.
Rodri is without a doubt the most difficult name to replace in the Man City-Pep system. To put it bluntly, without Rodri, Pep can't find a 1-1 alternative and has to turn around the midfield structure.
For example, in the loss to Aston Villa, instead of choosing Kalvin Phillips or Matheus Nunes, players who can play "number 6", Pep decided to use two central defenders to take on the role of midfielder. Specifically, John Stones plays as a midfield midfielder and Manuel Akanji, from center back, will step up to the midfield when Man City deploys the ball in a 3-2-4-1 formation.
Data from The MasterMite shows that in the 4 matches Rodri was suspended this season, Pep used 8 different midfield combinations, in the starting lineup and "variations" in the second half to change the situation. But No Rodri is still a "difficult", still like an unsolvable problem!
So why does this 27-year-old man have such great influence, especially when Man City is one of the clubs with the most number stars in the world?
Firstly, Rodri is Man City's distribution center, he passes more than any of his teammates and has always been in the Top 3 Premier League in the past 3-4 years in total passes. This season alone, Rodri has passed 1,278 passes in the Premier League, 1,193 of which were accurate (93.3%).
Rodri is currently No. 1 in the Premier League in the number of passes in the final third of the field (311), and is also Top 1 in the number of successful cross-line passes (60). Even though he was absent for 3 rounds due to suspension, Rodri still ranked 4th in the number of passes that moved the ball forward (115).
Second, Rodri is basically a reliable shield for the defense. He ranked fourth in the league for his ability to regain control in midfield - behind only Christian Norgaard, Dominik Szoboszlai and Idrissa Gueye. Fourth of course is not number 1, but note that Rodri plays for a Man City team that always dominates possession of the ball almost every opponent, so this is really a statistic that shows how often he defends better than others. .
The graphic below shows how Rodri dominates Man City's vertical axis. And he dominates it based on his ability to distribute the ball with greater precision than any other midfielder in the Premier League this season who has played 270 minutes or more.
In terms of Rodri's passing targets, the table below highlights how Rodri creates the vital link between midfield and attack, with his main passing partners including defenders Akanji and Ruben Dias, Next are full-backs like Kyle Walker and then Bernardo Silva - a player who this season often plays as Rodri's satellite.
Third, Rodri is not only a quality guarantee for top defense and passing ability, Rodri also plays a profound role in City's offensive pieces. According to Stats Bomb, the Spaniard has contributed to 10.8 goals, according to xG-chain data - more than any other midfielder in the league.
And of course, there is also a Rodri who can score at important times to help Man City-Pep turn danger into safety. The goal against Inter in the Champions League final last season is a testament.
Considering the Premier League alone, only 6 players have scored more goals from outside the box since Rodri debuted for Man City and except for Trent Alexander- Arnold, they are almost all attacking players: Kevin De Bruyne, James Maddison, James Ward-Prowse, Harry Kane, Heung-Min Son.
In 18 appearances in all competitions this season, Rodri has 4 goals, equal to his "shooting" achievement from last season. It is not surprising that, if from now until the end of the 2023/24 season, Rodri surpasses the number of 7 goals (highest) he reached in the 2021/22 season. Of course, provided he stays away from unnecessary penalties.
At Luton Town last weekend, with Rodri's return, Man City also found victory again. Even though it was difficult, a win is still a win and it is the latest proof of the importance of this guy born in 1996.
In every third of the pitch, from bottom to top, Rodri is key to Man City's hopes of winning a fourth consecutive Premier League title. In the context that Pep has not yet found "someone" on the same level as Rodri, the only thing the Spanish coach should do at this time is to "pray" that his compatriots will always be ready for anything. City match.
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