Cabin BLV: Man City finds it hard to reduce reliance on Rodri

07/10/2025 19:23:00 PlaymakerHub

Although recent matches have seen some form improvement, it remains evident that Man City's midfield still depends heavily on Rodri's skill set. This reliance is expected to persist even though Rodri is not performing at his peak yet.

1. After 7 rounds, Man City is positioned 5th, 3 points behind league leaders Arsenal. This standing is below what Pep Guardiola’s team had hoped for, but following a poor season start, the Citizens have capitalized well on the slow starts of other big teams and Liverpool’s declining form to stage a revival.

However, things at the Etihad so far have not demonstrated Man City as a smoothly functioning machine like in previous seasons. Guardiola’s squad still relies on Haaland’s goal-scoring ability, who scored the only goal in the recent win over Brentford. Including that goal, he has netted 5 goals in the last 3 matches across all competitions.

The more concerning issue for Man City now is the difficulties faced in the central midfield position just ahead of the defensive line. Rodri missed most of last season due to a ligament injury and only played briefly at the FIFA Club World Cup. This season, the Spanish midfielder is still not at his best form and has suffered another injury. Recently, he had to leave the pitch midway through the Brentford victory due to a hamstring injury. This raises questions about Rodri’s ability to contribute to Man City this season and further about his chances to participate in the 2026 World Cup with Spain. It is difficult to bench Rodri if he is fit because he is the type of player who brings confidence to Man City’s midfield and has the necessary leadership qualities. Guardiola urgently needs the 1996-born midfielder to play regularly, especially since another key midfielder, Kevin De Bruyne, transferred to Napoli last summer. On the other hand, my personal opinion is that if Rodri’s injury issues continue and recur during the remainder of this year, Man City should consider signing another central midfielder in the winter transfer window to lessen the burden on the Spaniard.

Rodri remains a midfielder who is hard to replace at Man City despite frequent injuries.

2. The possibility that Man City needs to add another midfielder stems from disappointment with Nico Gonzalez, the new signing from Porto for £50 million earlier this year. The Spanish midfielder has yet to prove his abilities despite having plenty of chances due to Rodri’s long-term injury absence. Although Guardiola praised the 23-year-old’s performance against Monaco in the Champions League for his ball recovery and transition skills, Gonzalez still has a significant gap to fill before he can replace Rodri. When Rodri left the field in the Brentford win, Man City’s midfield immediately struggled, causing the team to face substantial pressure from opponents, demonstrating that Gonzalez has not yet fulfilled the responsibility of controlling the game’s rhythm.

Man City’s dilemma now is that apart from Rodri and Gonzalez, Guardiola’s team lacks a better option for the defensive midfield role. Mateo Kovacic is no longer young and is now mainly a substitute rather than a starter. Both Phil Foden and newcomer Tijjani Reijnders are attack-oriented midfielders and cannot meet the defensive demands ahead of the backline. Therefore, Man City can only hope that either Rodri quickly regains his usual form and that his injury from the Brentford match is not serious, or that Gonzalez somehow matures with each game to help reduce the pressure on Guardiola’s squad to reinforce the midfield.

Commentator Quang Huy

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