Since winning the treble with Barcelona in 2008, coach Pep Guardiola has become accustomed to his peak years. However, now he is facing a rare difficult situation - a series of 4 consecutive losses for the first time in his 16-year coaching career.
A series of poor form has caused Manchester City to be eliminated from the Carabao Cup and face many difficulties in the Champions League. In the Premier League, they are also 5 points behind leaders Liverpool.
Clearly, the Citizens' current crisis comes from a myriad of causes: the frequent absence of key players, the reliance on Erling Haaland for goals, the uncertainty about Guardiola's future... However, none of these are worse than Rodri's absence.
"Imagine the Warriors losing Stephen Curry or Barcelona at their best without Messi. They should have been less strong. That happens at Manchester City. Rodri is irreplaceable. But we have to move forward," Guardiola admitted.
Although Mateo Kovacic has not played badly, everyone is seeing a Man City that is disorganized and vulnerable. "Replacing Rodri is not easy. It is a big task. But I am also happy to be under pressure like this and have an important role in the team" - the Croatian midfielder said a few weeks ago.
Rodri's absence has had a clear impact on Man City's defense. They allowed opponents to make more passes in each defensive action (11.2 - 12.1), make fewer ball recoveries in the opponent's half (16.8 - 11.9) and suffer more shots (6.25 - 6.86).
Therefore, it is no surprise that 10/13 goals conceded by The Citizens in the Premier League this season have come when Rodri has retired (excluding 7 goals conceded in the Carabao Cup and Champions League).
"We are less strong without Rodri. With him, we're better. But now he has to recover well for next season. We will play one game at a time," Guardiola lamented.
In fact, no team in the Premier League over the years has turned the situation around better than Man City. However, at those times, they almost always have the strongest cards.
As Guardiola compared after the loss to Brighton: "Liverpool have struggled after winning the Champions League and Premier League. They have to go down to the Europa League when Virgil van Dijk has been injured for the whole season".
So, will the same prospect happen to Man City when Rodri is absent for a long time?
