With Kevin de Bruyne absent for a long time, many people are worried about Manchester City. But the reality is that the team is still fine. That is, De Bruyne is not necessarily the most important factor for The Citizens.
With Rodri seriously injured and out for a long time, it seems that the anxiety is really there. Because people remember that Man City's 3 losses in the Premier League last season were all when Rodri did not play.
According to the general index, Man City won 75% of the matches with Rodri (59/78 - 18 draws, 1 loss) and won only 63% without the Spanish midfielder (10/16 - 1 draw, 5 losses).
Everyone understands that it is a big - huge gap, for coach Pep Guardiola to patch. At this time, the transfer market is not open to add foreign troops, so of course we will have to focus on existing solutions.
The most promising candidate is Mateo Kovacic, who started the first four Premier League games without Rodri. Man City won all 4 matches to extinguish discussions about Rodri's importance. However, that is only part of the story.
Man City were behind in home games against Ipswich and Brentford, with Kovacic coming on for 50 minutes in both times. Some of his touches were loose and the experienced midfielder was not at his best in Rodri's absence.
Last season, Man City lost 3 matches against Newcastle, Wolves and Arsenal when Rodri was suspended for 3 matches. They struggled to control space and the problem was not limited to defence.
Kovacic's ball distribution duties were criticised by Guardiola after the shocking defeat to Wolves.
Some people expect Kovacic to play many matches as a holding midfielder, but don't expect Pep to be comfortable with that. There is little chance for the 30-year-old Croatian to develop in this role - Guardiola knows what Kovacic cannot do.
Ilkay Gundogan's surprise return could be City's salvation. He was even chosen to replace Rodri for the 2021 Champions League final, although he was unsuccessful because they were defeated by Chelsea. Rodri has not been left out of a big game since.
Gundogan has a No. 6 strength, having played that role at Borussia Dortmund and sometimes very effectively at Man City. This could even be a natural move for him later in his career, when mobility becomes a bigger issue.
There will be no psychological problems for Gundogan when adapting to other roles.
Such tactical flexibility is not reserved for the experienced. In fact, Guardiola often praises Rico Lewis for his awareness and ability to adapt to whatever is required.
Lewis has been relied upon to start six games for Man City this season.
Last year, Guardiola revealed that the player - then 18 years old - really needed little guidance from him. "For Rico, I don't need to say much but he can read," Guardiola told Sky Sports.
Lewis' ability to choose a smart position and his speed to handle counter-attacks makes this full-back a strong candidate for the lowest position in midfield. His ability to distribute the ball safely is considered an advantage for the team to control the ball.
Center back John Stones was another option, having been promoted to a central midfielder and playing well. Even Bernardo Silva, Nathan Ake, Matheus Nunes could be options.
Of course, no one is doing as well as Rodri, but when this player is away for a long time, Pep will have to be flexible in using personnel, even changing tactics to promote the abilities of the rest instead of trying to focus on one diagram.
