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.”
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.
MANCHESTER CITY’S REQUEST TO RESCHEDULE PIVOTAL PREMIER LEAGUE TIES BRUTALLY DENIED
The Premier League has rejected Man City’s plea to swap Palace and Bournemouth matches. See City's brutal end-of-season schedule.
Manchester City are on the hunt for another domestic treble just seven years after the last one. Pep Guardiola pulled it off in 2018/19 with wins in the Premier League, FA Cup, and Carabao Cup. Now he's got his sights set on doing it again.
City’s deep run in the cups has created a mess for their league schedule. Their home game against Crystal Palace, which was supposed to happen during the Carabao Cup final weekend on March 22, got bumped. Same thing with their trip to Bournemouth, originally set for the day after the FA Cup final.
There’s a hold-up with rescheduling Palace; the Eagles’ Conference League semi-final run means they’ve got barely any free midweek dates. The match was pencilled in for Wednesday, May 13, but things got complicated when City reached the FA Cup Final, and Bournemouth got postponed too. The city asked the Premier League if they could play Bournemouth on Tuesday, May 12, then face Palace a week later, to squeeze in an extra recovery day before the Wembley showdown. Plus, that would give them the bonus of finishing their last two league games at home. But the Premier League usually insists that the fixture that was originally scheduled first in this case, Palace, gets played first.
According to The Mirror, City’s request was shot down. So now Guardiola’s team has to cram their last four matches into just 12 days: Palace visits on May 13, then the FA Cup Final, Bournemouth away on May 19, and finally wrapping things up at home to Aston Villa on May 24.
They couldn't play Bournemouth on May 20 because that’s the Europa League final night, and UEFA didn’t want any Premier League games stealing the spotlight when Aston Villa or Nottingham Forest could be involved.
The Mirror says the revised fixture dates and kick-off times are coming out today. Chelsea, also FA Cup finalists, will play their rescheduled match against Tottenham on May 19.
City still has to travel to Everton next Monday and host Brentford on Saturday, May 9. Then comes their jam-packed finish, starting with Palace.
Meanwhile, title rivals Arsenal will be hoping City’s crowded schedule works in their favour. Though Arsenal has its own challenge, a Champions League semi-final against Atletico Madrid is spread across the next two midweeks.
Arsenal closes out its league campaign with home games against Fulham and Burnley and trips to West Ham and Palace.
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