PEP GUARDIOLA CONFIRMS RODRI AS THE WORLD'S BEST MIDFIELDER AFTER SUNDERLAND RETURN
Rodri makes his long-awaited return! Read Pep Guardiola's honest assessment of Manchester City's 0-0 draw and the latest injuries.
Pep Guardiola didn’t hold back after Rodri’s performance off the bench against Sunderland. Even though City walked away with just a point after a goalless draw, Guardiola made it clear: this is what they’ve been missing for the past year and a half.
City wanted the win, not just to break Sunderland’s unbeaten home record, but to keep up with Arsenal, who now sit four points clear at the top. The drawstrings, no question. But when Rodri came on for the injured Nico González in the second half, you could feel the shift. The midfield finally settled down, and City looked more like themselves.
Guardiola was almost relieved. Rodri, who’s barely played in the league since coming back from that nasty cruciate ligament injury last September, is finally getting back to match fitness. And City needs him badly.
“He changed the game,” Guardiola said. “In just 45 minutes, he showed again why he’s the best in his position. We struggled to get things going in the buildup, but once Rodri was out there, it was different. He breaks lines, we move better, and honestly, after a year and a half without him, we’ve really missed him. Hopefully, he can stay fit now because he just makes us better.”
Sure, Arsenal dropped points at Sunderland earlier this season, too, so it’s not an easy ground for anyone. Guardiola admitted as much. “It’s always tough here. We had so many chances in the six-yard box, and we just couldn’t convert. The first half wasn’t great; we didn’t stick to the plan, but overall? We played really well against a fantastic team. I’m proud—my players gave everything to win.”
He knows his players were disappointed after the final whistle, but there’s no time to dwell. Chelsea are up next, and City can’t afford to let their heads drop.
There’s more bad news on the injury front. Both Savinho and Nico had to come off and probably won’t make it for the Chelsea match. “Savinho doesn’t look good,” Guardiola admitted. “Nico, we’ll have to wait and see.”
Rodri, though, was the real bright spot. He came on at halftime, completed 52 passes, and helped City push for a winner. It was his first real appearance since a brief cameo against Bournemouth back in November. After so long out, you could see how much the team missed him.
City had chances. Haaland and Gvardiol both forced great saves from Robin Roefs, and Savinho blasted over from close range. Still, the goal never came. It’s City’s first 0-0 of the season, and now they trail Arsenal by four.
Guardiola summed it up: “It was a really good game, especially the second half. The first half was tight; we just couldn’t finish our chances in the six-yard box. But against an unbeaten home team, I’m proud of the way we played. We did everything to win—it just didn’t happen.”
MANCHESTER CITY CONDEMN RACIST ABUSE OF STARS SEMENYO AND GUEHI
Following swift stadium action, Manchester City pledge full support to Semenyo and Guéhi amid shocking discriminatory abuse.
Manchester City didn’t hold back after Antoine Semenyo and Marc Guehi faced racist abuse during and after their wild 3-3 draw with Everton. The game itself was a rollercoaster; City managed to scrape a point thanks to Erling Haaland and Jeremy Doku, who nailed a jaw-dropping equaliser in the 96th minute.
Doku actually got City off to a great start, putting them up before halftime. But Everton flipped the script after the break, scoring three and having everyone on edge with ten minutes left. City defender Guehi made a costly error on Everton’s first goal, his misjudged back pass handing the ball to Thierno Barry, who didn’t think twice about putting it away.
Since then, City put out a statement confirming that Guehi was targeted with disgusting racist messages online, while Semenyo, who played most of the match at the Hill Dickinson Stadium, endured abuse in the stadium itself. City’s statement was straightforward: they’re outraged by the abuse and thanked Everton and the police for acting fast to identify the person responsible. They made it clear they're sticking by Guehi and Semenyo and won’t tolerate discrimination in football.
Right after the game, Guehi posted on social media, owning up to his mistake but keeping his head up. He thanked City fans and leaned on his faith, writing, “I need to do better, but we keep going & focused on the next. Thank you for your support as always! Thank you, Jesus!”
Racism in football keeps getting worse, on and off the pitch, and there’s a growing call for authorities to actually step up and fight discriminatory abuse wherever it shows up.
Both Guehi and Semenyo have made an immediate impact at City. Guehi came from Crystal Palace in January for £20 million, fitting right into Guardiola’s defence and looking sharp until Monday’s mishap. He’s already played 16 times for City. Semenyo arrived from Bournemouth for £64 million, has 22 appearances, and has made himself a regular threat, scoring eight goals with three assists, moving smoothly between central and wide positions.
They’re both expected to be in the lineup when City faces Brentford at home on Saturday as Guardiola’s team hangs onto their faint hopes of defending the title.
PEP GUARDIOLA REFUSES TO GUARANTEE RODRI’S RETURN FOR MONDAY’S PREMIER LEAGUE CLASH
Pep Guardiola provides the latest injury news on Rodri, Ruben Dias, and Josko Gvardiol ahead of a crucial title race clash at Everton.
Pep Guardiola has shared the latest on Manchester City's injury situation ahead of Monday’s Premier League match against Everton at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.
City is in good form right now. They came from behind to beat Southampton 2-1 in the FA Cup semi-final last weekend, making it six wins in a row across all competitions.
But they’ve had to do it without Rodri. He's missed their last two matches, including a tight 1-0 win at Burnley, after hurting his groin against Arsenal a couple of weeks back. Guardiola recently told reporters that Rodri is getting better, but the team’s been cautious and isn’t rushing him back.
At his latest press conference on Friday, Guardiola said Rodri still hasn’t returned to training, so they’re just taking it day by day. There's hope, but Guardiola wouldn’t give any guarantees about Rodri’s chances of playing against Everton. "He’s getting better. Still, he didn't train with us, so we’ll see in the next few days,” he said. When pressed about his confidence, Pep just replied, “I am always confident.”
With Rodri still not training, it sounds like a last-minute decision on whether he’ll play. A start against Everton seems unlikely. That probably means Nico González, who scored the winner against Southampton, will keep his spot in midfield next to Bernardo Silva. Maybe Nico O’Reilly slides into central midfield, too, if he isn’t covering at left-back.
It’s not all good news in defence either. Ruben Dias is still out with the ankle injury that’s kept him sidelined for the last six games, and Josko Gvardiol is recovering from the tibial fracture he picked up in January. Both are working their way back, and Guardiola says they’re improving, but there’s no sign of a return just yet.
Turning to the Everton game, City could head into it trailing Arsenal by six points if the Gunners beat Fulham on Saturday. With the title race this tight, City can’t afford to slip up.
Guardiola knows Monday will be tough. “Everton have always been tough,” he said. “Old Everton was so cool and so British, and I loved to go there, but in the new stadium, they are defending really well, and it has always been tough." He’s not taking recent Everton results lightly, adding, 'They're fighting for a place in Europe. We won with two or three actions here, but we were not good at that moment. We can’t have any result but win, win, win.”
Everton won’t be easy, especially away, but City can at least take confidence from their strong record of 17 league games unbeaten against the Toffees. They won the reverse fixture 2-0, with Haaland scoring both goals. Still, Guardiola isn’t expecting it to be straightforward.
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