CNN Central News & Network–ITDC India Epress/ITDC News Bhopal: In the 2023-2024 Premier League season, Manchester City lost only three matches. A 2-1 defeat away at Wolverhampton Wanderers on September 30, a 1-0 loss to Arsenal in the next match and a 1-0 loss to Aston Villa in early December. In all three, Rodri was unavailable and was dearly missed. He was serving a red card suspension in the first two cases and a yellow card suspension in the third.
The 28-year-old midfield anchor sustained ligament damage in his right knee during last Sunday’s tumultuous 2-2 draw at home to Arsenal.
Perhaps most important for City, and what elevates Rodri beyond the rest of the world’s best defensive midfielders, is his involvement in open-play sequences resulting in shots. With 8.4 per 90 minutes, he was comfortably top of the league, outshining even attacking players such as Phil Foden (7.8), Martin Odegaard (7.7), Bukayo Saka (7.5), Dominik Szoboszlai (7.4), James Maddison (7.3) and Mohamed Salah (7.3).
Similarly, in other competitions, City did not lose a match till the FA Cup final when Rodri was playing. That final saw something rare—a clinical and resolute Manchester United who executed their manager’s plan to a T. Only such an aberration could beat City last season when Rodri was playing. It is then abundantly clear why City manager Pep Guardiola called the Ballon d’Or contender irreplaceable. Here is a closer look at the numbers:
