Rodri's absence left clear consequences in the match against Newcastle when Man City exposed too many gaps in the midfield area. The Spanish midfielder is like a giant shield when he can block almost all attacks from the opponent from many sides.
Man City's second half against Newcastle was a rare time to see Pep Guardiola's army in trouble. In a moment, Newcastle unexpectedly had a chance when Joelinton made a pass that matched Anthony Gordon's run. The English striker faced Ederson and the Citizens goalkeeper was forced to commit a foul. Man City rarely receive penalty kicks like that.
In the penalty situation, Kyle Walker made a mistake in position and created conditions for Gordon to break the offside trap. However, the notable point is the space in front of Manuel Akanji - the Rodri area is always there. Normally, Rodri would choose the right position to block the passes rather than intervene directly as Mateo Kovacic has done.
An away draw against Newcastle is not a bad result for Man City. However, this creates an opportunity for competitors to rise up. In addition, a notable statistic is that since October 2022, when Rodri was absent, Man City have only won against Luton Town in the Premier League.
It is unreasonable to think that Man City depends on any one player, because that goes against Pep Guardiola's philosophy of team consistency. However, the " Blue Half" of Manchester has been confused at times without Rodri. With his passing ability and especially his smart positioning, Rodri is the one who creates connections in the squad of The Citizens.
At Man City, the Spanish star has many different tasks such as keeping the ball, pulling the ball, blocking or even creating opportunities. The EURO 2024 champion has always been the most influential person on the pitch just by being in the right position and shaping the game around him.
At the moment, it can be affirmed that no one can be as comprehensive as Rodri in the defensive midfield position. As Pep Guardiola recently shared, when a player becomes the most promising candidate for the Ballon d'Or award, it is because they bring something special that others can hardly do. All Man City can do against Newcastle is try to replicate Rodri's impact in some way through a combination of other players.
Luckily for the Etihad team, they made a wise decision to bring Ilkay Gundogan back from Barcelona a week before the transfer window ended. Although the German star is no longer in good form as before, Man City having Gundogan to replace Rodri is still an acceptable option.
Against Newcastle, Gundogan played on the left and highest in midfield. Mateo Kovacic took on Rodri's role in the lowest position, while Rico Lewis was the one who balanced on the right. All three ended the match with a successful pass rate of over 90%, but not as high as the 93.4% that Rodri had achieved since the beginning of the season.
Pep Guardiola has always wanted his side to control the game and no one has done that better than Rodri in recent years. The draw against Newcastle showed that the Man City captain has not been able to find a solution to the "no Rodri" problem.
