Rodri has warned Manchester City’s rivals they can still get better as they remain in the hunt for a second consecutive treble.
City brushed aside Newcastle 2-0 on Saturday to reach the semi-finals of the FA Cup for a sixth consecutive season, with their dominance not reflected in a scoreline which was defined by two deflected strikes from Bernardo Silva.
The win extended City’s unbeaten run in all competitions to 22 games, and although the international break could disrupt their rhythm, Spain midfielder Rodri believes there is more to come.
“It’s going to be good for us, this break,” Rodri said. “You will see the best version of this team at the end of the season.
“Always it happens because of the manager, because of the standards of the club, because of ourselves and the ways we have learned over these years. This is what we want to do.
“We asked the lads to rest as much as possible. I know it’s tough but we have friendly games (for our national teams). It’s important to play for our national teams but also to think about the end of the season. I think the best is yet to come.”
Pep Guardiola has been eager to deflect talk of repeating last season’s treble given the number of games remaining for City, who sit third in the Premier League, one point behind leaders Arsenal who are the next visitors to the Etihad Stadium after the break.
But Rodri and the rest of the squad recognise the opportunity that is in front of them.
“I think if you ask ourselves before the season which position we would be able to be in it would be exactly this one,” he said.
“Involved in every competition, wanting to fight for everything and this is the situation that we’re going to get after the international break.
“We can win everything, of course. It will be so, so tough. We asked ourselves at the beginning of the season to put us in a situation where we could at least fight to the end and this is the situation. The job is done up until now and now we have to do the last push.”
Last week’s Champions League draw has once again paired City with Real Madrid, who they beat 5-1 on aggregate in last season’s semi-finals.
It is a special fixture for Madrid native Rodri, who joined City from Real’s rivals Atletico in 2019.
“In my case, (we’ve played them) four times in five years since I’m here,” he said. “Yeah, we like Madrid. My home, my city. It is what it is.
“To be honest I loved what happened (in the draw) – the second game at home was the key, for me, not so much the team you draw. We have it in the quarter-finals and if we go through in the semi-finals. So we were kind of lucky in the draw.”
The match will put Rodri up against England international Jude Bellingham in the middle of the park.
“We know how he is as a player, tactically and with the quality,” Rodri said. “We know that Real Madrid is not just one player, we always said this.
“We have to focus on ourselves more than the opponent. We’ve seen in the past year that with the best performance, City can beat anyone. And this is my only target until the end of the season.”
World Cup Girlz back in the fold? Gilbert hints at return of experienced players for Brazil friendlies
For the first time in almost nine months, it seems as if Jamaica’s interim Reggae Girlz Head coach Xavier Gilbert will have members of the World Cup squad at his disposal, when they visit Brazil for a two-match friendly international series in June.
The Girlz, who first locked horns with Brazil, and lost 0-3, at the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup in France, went one better at last year’s global showpiece in Australia, as they not only held the South American giants to a goalless stalemate, but also ensured their elimination at the group stage.
By all indications, that performance, and by extension, the fact that the Girlz made an historic appearance in the knockout stages of the World Cup, earned them even more respect from the number 10-ranked Brazilians, who are currently in preparation for this summer’s Olympic Games in Paris.
The games, scheduled for June 1 and 4, are expected to assist Brazil in their preparation, while the now 42nd-ranked Jamaicans will get a much-needed test to regain their appetite for international competition, having last sported the nationals colours against Canada last September.
Since that Olympic qualifying fixture in Canada, members of the World Cup squad withdrew their services from national representation, citing lack of payment and mistreatment from the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF), among their reasons.
While it is yet to be confirmed how many, if any, of the World Cup players will make the trip, Gilbert gave the clearest indication yet that there might be a few, as he welcomed the games, after not utilizing the last FIFA window.
“It is always important to secure games during the international window. It not only assists in exposing players, but it also ensures the team is active, which helps our rankings, and also our quality of play. Because as you know, the more we play together, especially against quality opponents, the better the team becomes, and we also get to work on different things both offensively and defensively,” Gilbert told SportsMax.TV.
“The expectation is for us to give a good account of ourselves, it has been a while since these players have played together, but the good thing is that they are actively engaged in their respective leagues in Europe and United States. So, it is not like they were inactive, and obviously, it is not the first time they will be playing together.
“So, we just have to keep things as simple or as close to what we did prior to, and during the World Cup, to make sure we are competitive. It is going to be a little bit different, but it’s not far-fetched that we can get another positive result against Brazil,” he added.
Atletico Madrid 3-1 Athletic Bilbao: Hosts close in on top-four finish
Atletico Madrid beat newly crowned Copa del Rey winners Athletic Bilbao 3-1 at home in LaLiga on Saturday as Diego Simeone's side moved a step closer to a top-four finish.
Fourth-placed Atletico moved onto 64 points and have increased their advantage over Athletic, in fifth, to six points with five games to play.
Midfielder Rodrigo de Paul put Atletico in front in the 15th minute with a goal from outside the box. After controlling an attempted clearance from the visitors, his effort dipped just under the bar as his strike deflected off one of the Athletic defenders.
Athletic levelled just before half-time through Nico Williams after Antoine Griezmann lost the ball through a careless pass.
But Angel Correa restored the lead for Atletico in the 52nd minute and later came close to scoring again.
With 10 minutes to play, away goalkeeper Unai Simon inadvertently made it 3-1 with an own goal after Samuel Lino’s effort came back off the post, ending any Athletic hopes of a comeback.
Hull City 3-3 Ipswich Town: Tigers fight back three times to deny Tractor Boys
Ipswich Town missed the chance to move into an automatic promotion spot as play-off-chasing Hull City came from behind three times in a thrilling 3-3 Championship draw at The MKM Stadium.
Ipswich knew a victory would take them second after Leeds United were surprisingly beaten 4-0 by Queens Park Rangers on Friday, and they led on three separate occasions, George Hirst opening the scoring before Omari Hutchinson produced two brilliant strikes from the edge of the area.
However, buoyed by slip-ups from rivals Norwich City and West Brom earlier on Saturday, Hull dug deep to fight back on each occasion, Ozan Tufan and Liam Delap scoring their first two equalisers.
With Liam Rosenior's men 3-2 down with just four minutes to play, substitute Noah Ohio blasted his shot in off the crossbar to punish an error from Ipswich goalkeeper Vaclav Hladky.
The result keeps Ipswich behind second-placed Leeds on goal difference, though the Tractor Boys have a game in hand to come at Coventry City on Tuesday.
Hull, meanwhile, are two points adrift of the top six, with Norwich's goal difference advantage meaning their top-six spot is all but assured. The Tigers will, however, leapfrog West Brom if they beat Plymouth Argyle on the final day and Albion lose to Preston North End.
Data Debrief: Hutchinson's best not enough
Hutchinson was a man who deserved to be on the winning side on Saturday, giving Ryan Allsop no chance with two near-identical left-footed strikes from the right corner of the penalty area.
His goals came from an expected goals (xG) total of just 0.6, and he led all players on the pitch for shots (eight) and passes in the final third (21), also laying on three chances for his team-mates.
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