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• Rodri: Guardiola always evolving to stay one step ahead

  Pep Guardiola is constantly evolving to stay ahead of the rest of the game, giving him the best advantage to keep winning, so says Rodri.

  Manchester City won an unprecedented fourth consecutive Premier League title last season, following on from their historic treble, with Rodri's goal sealing it as the club won their first-ever Champions League.

  Rodri has been a key piece of Guardiola's team since joining from Atletico Madrid in July 2019, and last season made 34 appearances in the top-flight, never tasting defeat in any of them.

  In all competitions last campaign, he made 50 appearances, playing the most minutes of any of his team-mates (4,325). Rodri also featured in six of Spain's seven Euro 2024 matches, helping them to win a record fourth title at the tournament.

  The midfielder admitted that while Guardiola is constantly looking for improvement, he has also been the key to Rodri reaching his potential.

  "To me, the unique thing about Pep is that he is always one step ahead," Rodri wrote in the Players Tribune. "He is always evolving before the game around him can evolve.

  "He is never satisfied with keeping things exactly as we played last season, because your competition is always going to be analysing last season. You don't win four Premier League titles in a row by standing still. You either reinvent yourself or you die.

  "For me, he added that final mental piece of the puzzle. "Seeing" the game in a different way. "Feeling" it — when to move into space, when to hold back. When to press, when to ease off.

  "His confidence was so important to me, because you have to remember, when I came here in 2019, I was walking into a changing room with Fernandinho, Aguero, David Silva, Kevin De Bruyne. Legends."

  In his five years in Manchester, Rodri has won four Premier Leagues, an FA Cup, two EFL Cups, a Champions League, the UEFA Super Cup and the Club World Cup.

  City only failed to win the Premier League in Rodri's first of those five seasons, while the Spaniard has only suffered defeat in two finals while at the club: the Champions League in 2021 and the FA Cup last term.

  However, he says those defeats are what drive him to improve, using them as learning moments when it comes to challenging for the next trophy.

  "We have been very blessed the last few years with City, but it's not real life," Rodri added. "In the good moments, you don't learn, you just enjoy.

  "In the bad moments, when you truly suffer, that's when you really grow. I remember after the '21 Champions League final against Chelsea, I walked back into the little family area, and when I saw my parents and my brothers, I literally couldn't speak.

  "It was like I was 10 years old again, at the kitchen table. I couldn't say a word. I just thought: I never want to feel this feeling again. I have to work harder. I have to find a way to be better."

• Fixture congestion concerns Arsenal boss Eidevall

  Jonas Eidevall is unhappy with the level of care shown by UEFA and the Women's Super League when it comes to the fixture schedule.

  Arsenal beat Rosenborg 1-0 on Saturday to seal their place in the second round of qualifying for the Women's Champions League.

  They will face either Juventus, BK Hacken, Paris FC, Fiorentina or Sporting CP in a two-legged tie.

  Those matches will take place on either 18-19 September and 25-26 September, which means Arsenal will play five matches in the space of two-and-a-half weeks when factoring in the start of the WSL campaign.

  From next season, English clubs will avoid the mini-league qualifying format as UEFA introduces a new structure, and Eidevall, whose team also played on Wednesday, believes the current guise is damaging to player welfare.

  "Now we're through it, I can say it – it's lucky an English team will not have to play in these mini-tournaments again. For all the excitement, it is a relic from the past," said Eidevall.

  "This is just done from a budget perspective. That’s why they cram it in on Saturdays, to save another hotel night [by playing on a Sunday].

  "All research around the world shows there’s a massive difference between 72 hours and 96 hours recovery after a game. That part, I just can't get my head around.

  "That's just science. WSL has zero concerns about it, UEFA has zero concerns about it. It impacts injury risk. It's the same in the men's game.

  "It's just that science is one thing and broadcasting money is another thing.

  "You always need to get on with things. It's not an excuse, it's just scientific."

  Arsenal kick-off their WSL season against Manchester City on September 22.

• United States mentality issues to blame for Canada loss

  The United States must tackle some concerning mentality issues, which are to blame for their defeat to Canada.

  That is the view of interim coach Mikey Varas, who has few answers for solving the problem.

  USA were beaten 2-1 by Canada in Kansas City on Saturday, in their first game of the post-Gregg Berhalter era.

  It marked Canada's first victory on US soil in 67 years.

  And while Mauricio Pochettino reportedly waits in the wings to take over the Stars and Stripes, Varas hit out at the team's mentality.

  "The mentality is on the players. They know it," he told reporters.

  "We speak the truth to each other. I love those guys. But they know that mentality to fight, to run and to sacrifice, I can't do that for them. That's on them.

  "I'm not a psychologist, so I don't know. I felt that the training [sessions] were intense. They were aggressive.

  "But when the game comes, you gotta get going. And the players are the ones that bring that. Coaches can only get you so far from a mentality perspective."

  Varas did shoulder some of the blame, too, suggesting he may have tried to introduce too many new ideas, too soon.

  "I think on the ball, that's on me," he said.

  "I want to present some ideas to them and you just never know how it's going to translate from training to the game after three training sessions. And I asked a lot of them, you know, and if there's a goal, I mean, that's on me.

  "When you don't have a lot of time to work and you want to play a certain way it creates confusion.

  "Players are going to take responsibility for quality of action. The translation of the ideas wasn't clear enough because you shouldn't be static and you shouldn't pass the ball just to pass the ball. You're trying to be trying to accelerate play as quickly as you can."