EPL

How much will Man City miss midfield maestro Rodri and who could replace him?

By Sports Desk September 25, 2023

Rodri will serve a three-match suspension for his sending-off against Nottingham Forest – but how much will Manchester City miss their midfield lynchpin?

Here, the PA news agency looks at the Spaniard’s impact in Pep Guardiola’s side.

“A big miss”

Rodri’s influence has increasingly been recognised over last season and this, peaking with his winning goal and player-of-the-match display in the Champions League final.

Team-mate Phil Foden said after Saturday’s game: “He is one of our most important players and he seems to play all the minutes. He is going to be a big miss.”

While not quite ever-present, Rodri led all City outfielders in playing time last season and had played all but 21 minutes in this season’s Premier League prior to his dismissal for tangling with Forest’s Morgan Gibbs-White.

The 27-year-old Spain international leads the Premier League in passes and overall touches of the ball this term, still 67 passes and 87 touches clear of second-placed Brighton defender Lewis Dunk even after his dismissal, and trailed only Dunk in both categories last season.

He is also City’s leader this season and last in tackles and, while the same is true for fouls committed, he had up to now avoided serving a suspension since his arrival at the club in the summer of 2019.

The former Atletico Madrid man had eight Premier League bookings and 11 in all competitions in his first season but has had no more than six in the league or nine overall since then, while Saturday’s was the first red card of his career for club or country.

He ranks third for the club this season in shots and has been outscored by only Erling Haaland in the league and, additionally, Julian Alvarez in all competitions as he seemingly takes on some of the attacking duties left by Ilkay Gundogan’s summer departure.

Call for Kalvin

Gundogan was not the only high-profile player to leave City this summer and, coupled with injuries and now Rodri’s ban, Guardiola’s midfield options are rapidly dwindling.

Kevin De Bruyne lasted 23 minutes of the new league season before aggravating a hamstring injury, with Bernardo Silva and Mateo Kovacic also currently sidelined along with defender John Stones, who excelled in a hybrid role last season.

Summer signing Matheus Nunes and forgotten man Kalvin Phillips could therefore have major roles to play – England international Phillips, who came on in the second half against Forest, has played barely 400 minutes of league football since joining from Leeds last summer.

Foden could also operate in a deeper role but options on the wing are not plentiful either, with Riyad Mahrez and Cole Palmer leaving this summer while Jack Grealish has only just returned from a knee problem. Jeremy Doku has hit the ground running while Alvarez has been used more regularly as a foil for Haaland up front.

Related items

  • Wolves boss O’Neil unfazed by fan criticism after Palace draw Wolves boss O’Neil unfazed by fan criticism after Palace draw

    Wolves head coach Gary O’Neil was unfazed by supporter criticism after his team saw their winless start to the season continue with Saturday’s 2-2 draw against Crystal Palace.

    Marc Guehi netted a late equaliser as Palace took a point at Molineux, where Wolves had previously been on course for victory after fighting back from 1-0 down to lead 2-1.

    O’Neil’s side have now earned just three points from 10 matches, failing to win any of their first 10 games to start a league campaign for just the third time after 1926-27 (10 games) and 1983-84 (14).  

    O’Neil responded to Trevoh Chalobah putting Palace ahead on the hour mark with a triple substitution, introducing Mario Lemina, Goncalo Guedes and Jean-Ricner Bellegarde.

    Though the former duo impressed after coming on, supporters loudly booed O’Neil’s decision to replace midfielder Tommy Doyle, as speculation regarding his future continues to mount.

    Asked about supporter discontent after the game, O’Neil said: “I’m fine, it’s my job. The three substitutes made a big difference, I thought we were excellent from then.

    “They can voice their opinions, of course, it’s my job. Mario made us an awful lot better, he snuffed out so many balls and turned them into attacking situations for us.

    “We need to be better, of course. A lot of it ends up being my responsibility, which I’m happy to take. Criticism around subs, goals can land on my doorstep, that’s what I’m here for.”

    O’Neil then added: “I’m disappointed because it was a really brave fightback to spin the game from 1-0 down to 2-1 up, it took a lot of effort.

    “Disappointed because having worked so hard to get in front, once we got in front I thought we had a good chance of seeing it out.

    “I thought we’d have to defend a couple of moments but not be under any sort of siege, so we’re disappointed we came up short with one.”

    Palace have now won more points from their last two matches (four) than they did through their first eight of 2024-25 (three), but boss Oliver Glasner was frustrated that they failed to put Wolves away when 1-0 up.

    “It was our third game in six days with a very tight squad. The only thing we can blame ourselves is for not deciding the game when we could’ve done,” he said.

    “We had the momentum with the crowd booing, this is what we could and should have done better. All of a sudden Wolves went 2-1 up and then it was back to the players who reacted, they came back again and what makes me proud is we went for the win.”

  • Excelsior, St Catherine consolidate group honours after 5-1, 1-1 scorelines against Jonathan Grant, Jamaica College Excelsior, St Catherine consolidate group honours after 5-1, 1-1 scorelines against Jonathan Grant, Jamaica College

    Excelsior High and St Catherine High consolidated their positions atop Groups Two and Four after registering contrasting performances against Jonathan Grant and Jamaica College, respectively, on the final day of the Inter-secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA)/Digicel Manning Cup Round of 16 encounters on Saturday.

    Excelsior High registered a commanding 5-1 win over Jonathan Grant to finish at the summit of Group Two with maximum nine points.

    They will be joined in the quarterfinal by Tivoli Gardens, who ended second with four points and a slightly better goal difference ahead of Eltham (four points) after they played out a lively 2-2 stalemate in the other group fixture.

    Over in Group Four, St Catherine’s 1-1 stalemate with former champions Jamaica College saw them top the group with seven points, two points ahead of their Old Hope Road-based opponents, who ended with five points to also progress to the quarterfinal.

    Calabar ended third on four points after they defeated Charlie Smith 3-0 in a game of academic interest.

    The quarterfinal groups will see Mona High, Tivoli High, Jamaica College and Kingston College crossing swords in Group A, while St Catherine, Excelsior High, Campion College and Hydel are set to do battle in Group B.

    Meanwhile, all other teams that failed to progress from the Round of 16 will contest the Walker Cup knockout competition.

    Saturday’s results

    St Catherine 1, Jamaica College 1

    Eltham 2, Tivoli High 2

    Excelsior 5, Jonathan Grant 1

    Calabar 3, Charlie Smith 0

  • New daCosta Cup champs to be crowned as Clarendon College eliminated after 1-2 loss to Cornwall College New daCosta Cup champs to be crowned as Clarendon College eliminated after 1-2 loss to Cornwall College

    A new champion will be crowned in the Inter-secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA)/Wata daCosta Cup as defending champions Clarendon College were knocked out at the competition following a 1-2 loss to Cornwall College in their final Round of 16 contest in May Pen on Saturday.

    Deshaun Talbert (33rd) and Dante Escoffery (44th) got the goals in the consolation win for Cornwall College in Zone Two, while Nicholy Forbes pulled one back for Clarendon College in the 73rd.

    The result saw both teams being eliminated from the daCosta Cup as Zone winners Munro College (seven points) and Frome Technical (five points) secured the quarterfinal spots after a goalless stalemate in the other zone contest.

    Cornwall College and Clarendon College ended on three points and one point, respectively. However, both teams will have a shot at the Ben Francis knockout title.

    Theodore ‘Tappa’ Whitmore was pleased with the fact that his team ended the daCosta Cup on a high.

    “I think it was more the desire and commitment with which we played. The second half of the season has been lacking but they came out this afternoon and we could see the fight and commitment from the players. The Ben Francis Cup is still a trophy to play for so we are looking forward to it, but it is a game-by-game situation so we just want to get the first game out the way and then see where we go from there,” Whitmore said in a post-game interview.

    Though Clarendon College had a slight chance of progressing, provided they won and Frome Technical lost, it was Cornwall College, playing for pride, that looked more purposeful from the start.

    Kayvon Donaldson proved troublesome to the opponent’s defence as he got the first two warning shots off from distance, the first of which went straight at Lydel Rodney in goal for Clarendon College, while the second sailed over the crossbar.

    Donaldson, sporting the number 14 jersey, continued to lead Cornwall College’s attacking line and his persistence proved rewarding when he won a penalty after being taken out inside the 18-yard box. Talbert later converted the 12-yard kick.

    With Clarendon College looking deflated, Cornwall College doubled their lead when Escoffery produced a well-timed run to meet a weighted pass inside the 18-yard box and head past Rodney, who should have done better.

    Clarendon College showed more life on the resumption and created a few decent opportunities, with Forbes at the forefront of each attack.

    The player sporting the number nine jersey first went close in the 71st when he was played in behind defenders, but his first effort came back off the upright, while the follow-up attempt was kept out by Carlyle Tinglin in goal for Cornwall College.

    Forbes again went close soon after, but again failed to beat Tinglin, who was well-positioned to stop the effort.

    He inevitably hit the back of the net when he finished a rebound after Tinglin spilled the ball from Nashon Bolt’s freekick.

    Clarendon College’s Head coach, Lenworth ‘Teacha’ Hyde, felt his team underperformed this season.

    “We didn’t do well this season; we lost some players last year, so we are basically on a rebuilding process. We have some Under-16 players to look at to gel with these current players. So it is a rebuilding process but I think we played well today, we had possession, it is just that we are not scoring, hence we lost the game,” Hyde said.

    Saturday’s results

    Alphansus Davis 0, Garvey Maceo 0

    Kemps Hill 0, STETHS 2

    Clarendon College 1, Cornwall College 2

    Frome Technical 0, Munro College 0

    Ocho Rios 2, Dinthill Technical 2

    Happy Grove 0, Glenmuir 1

    Central High 2, McGrath 1

    Manchester High 2, Denbigh High 2

© 2024 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.