Rodri admits Manchester City cannot afford a single slip-up as they bid to secure a second consecutive trophy treble.
City head into Sunday’s showdown with Arsenal a point behind the Premier League leaders and will then face eight games in April, including a two-legged Champions League quarter-final against Real Madrid and FA Cup semi-final with Chelsea.
Victory over Mikel Arteta’s side could go a long way towards securing an unprecedented fourth straight Premier League title and would also extend Rodri’s remarkable unbeaten run in all competitions to 62 matches.
“It’s a very, very important match,” said the Spain midfielder, whose last defeat came for his national side against Scotland on March 28 last year.
“I’m not saying it’s going to be decisive, but it will be very important for the mental fight in the sense of if we are able to beat them it will be very important for our confidence, and we will show them that we are here again.
“It’s not just this game that’s like a final, it’s all of them from now until the end of the season. We’re still in every competition, but any game that you lose can practically leave you out of the running.
“Really that’s the level that this league demands from you, to reach between 90 and 100 points to be able to win the league.
“So, we have to win practically every game and that starts against Arsenal, who are currently the league leaders.”
Liverpool are the only side apart from City to lift the Premier League trophy in the last six seasons, while Arsenal’s most recent title triumph came 20 years ago.
“Of course we have the experience from previous years in managing these situations of being in multiple competitions,” Rodri added.
“When you get into the dynamic of playing every three days at the highest level you enter this competitive rhythm which can help you reach a very high level – it’s true with very high physical demands – and we’re going to have to manage that well.
“That’s why the whole team will be important from now until the end of the season and it’s one of the keys to success.
“We have to play with confidence like we have in the last years and be humble enough to run more than the opponent and do more than the opponent if we want to win.
“The target for us is to put ourselves into a position where we can fight until the end, and this is something we have been working on and to arrive in this moment.
“Now is the moment that we have to do the last push. The goal is to fight for everything. Our objective is basically this; if we were able to show that we could win everything we won last season, then why can’t we do it again?”
Veteran campaigner Hummels the hero as fine margins cost PSG
Mats Hummels was Borussia Dortmund's hero on Tuesday, as his goal sent the Bundesliga side into the Champions League final.
Hummels' second-half header was the difference as BVB won 1-0 on the night against Paris Saint-Germain in the French capital, and a 2-0 win on aggregate.
The average age of PSG's starting XI was 24 years and 157 days, which was the youngest starting XI to be named in a Champions League semi-final since Arsenal in May 2009.
Yet it was a veteran campaigner in Hummels who was decisive.
His excellent header was the centre-back's first goal in the Champions League for Dortmund since February 2013.
At the age of 35 years and 143 days, Hummels became the third oldest player to score a Champions League semi-final goal, after Ryan Giggs in 2010-11 (37y 148d) and Edin Dzeko last season (37y 54d).
It was only his fifth goal in the competition, and Hummels' first in 42 games, since he netted for Bayern Munich against Ajax in October 2018.
PSG will ultimately rue the fine margins as their Champions League curse continues.
Kylian Mbappe had five shots, but could not wield his usual influence on proceedings, other than when he hit the crossbar - one of four PSG attempts that struck the woodwork.
Indeed, PSG hit the frame of the goal 14 times throughout their campaign. This is the most on record (since 2003-04) by any team in a single season. Six of these came in this tie.
PSG amassed 3.2 expected goals. This was just the fourth Champions League game on record (since 2010-11) in which a team managed at least 3.0 xG but has failed to score.
This is just the second time a team has won both legs of a Champions League semi-final tie by a 1-0 scoreline – Dortmund were also the other occasion, against Manchester United in 1996-97.
Dortmund have now reached the Champions League final for the third time. The last time they did so was also the last time the showpiece was played at Wembley Stadium (2013), when they lost to Bayern, who they could yet meet again this time around.
Paris Saint-Germain 0-1 Borussia Dortmund (0-2 agg): Hummels header sends BVB into Champions League final
Borussia Dortmund reached their third Champions League final after Mats Hummels' second-half goal earned a 1-0 victory over Paris Saint-Germain.
Leading 1-0 from the first leg, BVB came up with the goods at the Parc des Princes on Tuesday to seal a 2-0 aggregate victory.
Hummels headed home from a corner five minutes into the second half to send the German team, who won the title in 1997, into their first final in Europe's top club competition since 2013.
PSG hit the woodwork four times but failed to find the net as Kylian Mbappe, who is widely expected to leave the club at the end of the season, was a shadow of his usual brilliant self.
Dortmund will meet either 14-time champions Real Madrid or their Bundesliga rivals Bayern Munich, who clash at the Bernabeu on Wednesday after a 2-2 draw in the first leg, in the final.
That showpiece match will take place at Wembley on June 1. The last time the final was played in London was back in 2013, when BVB, coached by Jurgen Klopp, lost to Bayern.
Butler, Cooper take positives from U-17 friendly series; eye improvements ahead of qualifiers
Jamaica’s Under-17 men's Head coach Altimont Butler and his Trinidad and Tobago counterpart Shawn Cooper, took heart from their teams’ performances in the recent two-match friendly series, as they welcomed the early preparations for next year’s World Cup qualifiers.
The teams shared the series one win apiece, as Trinidad and Tobago won the first encounter 1-0, before the Jamaicans replied with a 2-1 victory in the second contest at the UWI-JFF Captain Horace Burrell Centre of Excellence last weekend.
Both Butler and Cooper believe their objectives for this, the early stages of their preparations, were met as both anticipate significant improvements along the way in their build up to the 2025 Concacaf Men’s Under-17 Championships, which will serve as the qualifier to that age group’s World Cup in Qatar, also scheduled for next year.
“The objective was to see how we could connect as a group. It wasn’t about the results as we are still trying to learn the characteristics of the players. It was good for me to see them in an international game, and I think we can get it together soon,” Butler said.
Earlier this year, FIFA, announced that the Under-17 World Cup will be expanded from 24 to 48 teams, this Butler said increases their chances of making the final cut for the global showpiece, as he is expecting to unearth some talented overseas-based players to strengthen the team.
“That means more spots for Concacaf, and that gives us even a greater opportunity to qualify for the next World Cup. However, in order to qualify, we have to fix a few things,” he noted.
For Cooper, not losing the series away was a positive in and of itself, as it represents a solid platform on which his young Soca Warriors outfit can build going forward.
“For me, leaving here one-all in the series, I think I am on top. We took the first rubber. They had to come hard to equalise, so we are leaving Jamaica with our heads held high. It is always beneficial in playing Jamaica. This game was played like a proper international game and not like a training game or a friendly. Some of our guys saw what it takes to play at the international level and it is all well for their development,” Copper shared.
“We are hoping to go foreign and see what guys we have that can fill in. We have a number of guys at Inter Miami who played against Olympic Lyon, so we have about three of them. We are looking to broaden our horizons so that when we go back to Trinidad, with the exposure these guys have, it will only do well for us in going forward,” he added.
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