Man City close gap at the top as Rodri sends reminder amid Haaland absence
Manchester City have proved they can win without Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne - but they won’t want any more opportunities to prove they can win without Rodri.
The best defensive midfielder in Europe showed once again that he also has a bit of an eye for goal, as the world champions served notice that they're bang in the mood to retain their Premier League title.
Rodri’s rocket - and a second-half strike by Julian Alvarez that was just as spectacular in its design if not its finish - sent City to within two points of leaders Liverpool.
The Spaniard has been suspended for four games this season. In his absence, City lost at Arsenal, Wolves and Aston Villa, and were knocked out of the Carabao Cup at Newcastle.
Little wonder that when he limped out of the Club World Cup Final in Saudi Arabia last week, team-mate Phil Foden admitted he got a lump in his throat. There have been suggestions - usually emanating from North London - that Rodri has been eclipsed in his position by Arsenal’s Declan Rice this season.
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But he does more than hold the fort. Last season, his strike won the Champions League. This goal was his fifth of the campaign. It would cost a lot more than £105million for City to even contemplate selling the player who glues Guardiola’s team together.
Guardiola will still look forward to the day he will welcome back the country’s most prolific goalscorer, with Haaland still nursing the foot injury that has sidelined him for a month. John Stones and Jeremy Doku are also missing. But De Bruyne was back on the bench after undergoing surgery to repair a torn hamstring in August.
The roar that greeted the Belgian when he was sent out to warm up just after Alvarez had netted City’s second goal on the hour would have been heard in Anfield, Villa Park and the Emirates.
Rodri got Man City's opener at the EtihadCity have been here before. In 2019, they reeled in Liverpool’s 10-point lead to clinch the title on the final day. They eclipsed the Merseysiders by a point again three years later by scoring three goals in six minutes to beat Aston Villa. And last season, Arsenal’s legs turned to jelly when they felt City’s breath on their necks with the finishing line in sight.
It was a tough afternoon for Chris Wilder’s Blades. Their fate will not be decided by games against the reigning champions, but Wilder would have liked the desire and discipline shown by his players on an afternoon where they rarely had more than 15 percent possession.
It has been an annus mirabilis for City, with the Blues becoming the first club to lift the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup, European Super Cup and the Club World Cup in the same year. All five trophies were placed at the mouth of the tunnel on pedestals before kick off.
Julian Alvarez made the game safe for the championsUnited’s players must have felt like losing contestants on Bullseye when Jim Bowen used to wheel out a speedboat or family saloon.
City didn’t get out of first gear for the first 15 minutes. But then Rodri put his foot on the accelerator to speed onto Phil Foden’s lay-off - and his low drive gave Wes Foderingham no hope.
Wilder would have hoped his team would get the opportunity to play on the nerves of a team that had drawn their last three games at the Etihad after winning their previous 23 in 2023. But it was a struggle to get out of their own half.
Even with Jack Grealish hampered by a knock and the shock of having his home burgled while he was playing at Everton on Wednesday night, City had too much.
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Oscar Bobb replaced Grealish - and when the young Norwegian’s brilliant pass took out four United defenders, it allowed Foden to pick out Alvarez at the far post with a cross that the Argentine couldn’t miss.
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