23 September 2023 , 17:34
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Pep Guardiola tore into Rodri after the Manchester City midfielder was sent off in Saturday's 2-0 win over Nottingham Forest.
The Premier League champions raced into a two-goal lead against Forest at the Etihad courtesy of first half goals from Phil Foden and Erling Haaland but were reduced to 10 men after Rodri was dismissed just 27 seconds after the interval.
Rodri was shown a straight red card by referee Anthony Taylor after putting his hands around the throat of Morgan Gibbs-White during a scuffle near the corner flag. Taylor's decision was upheld by VAR, meaning the 27-year-old will miss next month's seismic showdown with Arsenal.
Unsurprisingly given the consequences of his actions, Rodri received a stern dressing down by Guardiola after the match. The Manchester City chief raged: “I said at half-time to the players to be careful, to control themselves but Rodri couldn’t do that. I am angry with him but he apologised after the game. Rodri has to control himself and his emotions.”
After recently claiming the Spaniard was one of the most midfielders in the world, Guardiola - who himself was booked - added: “Today he wasn’t one of the best players in the world! I don’t like to play with 10 men.
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“I can get a yellow card but Rodri can’t. The trick is to control yourself but I don’t play. Soon I’ll be in the tribune for too many yellow cards.”
The Manchester City chief had a face like thunder as Rodri trudged off the field following his tussle with Gibbs-White. Guardiola also revealed that Rodri had privately apologised to his teammates after the match, which City saw out relatively comfortably.
Rodri's apology, although welcome, will be scant consolation for Guardiola as he now faces up to negotiating one of the season's most challenging fixtures without his midfield lynchpin. The Spain star will also miss games against Newcastle and Wolves.
Join the debate! What did you make of Rodri's red card? Let us know here.
Pep Guardiola had some harsh words for Rodri after his red card against Nottingham Forest (Sky Sports)Guardiola was full of praise for the character of his side after they dug deep to grind out another positive result. City have won all six of their league games so far this term and maintained their perfect record with a 3-1 win over Crvena zvezda in the Champions League in midweek.
Speaking after the match, Guardiola told BBC Sport: "An exceptional game in the first half. Exceptional game in the second for our resilience and our work because we played, I would say, 51/52 minutes ten against eleven so it was not easy but we were fantastic.
"I thought the way we played in the first half was amazing so against a difficult side for the physicality the pace they have up front so yeah, recover for the next one."