Rodri’s temporary absence is anticipated to be filled by Kalvin Phillips, since he was sent off during the win over Nottingham Forest.

Normally, Pep Guardiola avoids blaming specific people in press conferences, but on this particular occasion, he did. This time he was upset with Rodri for getting sent off during the Nottingham Forest match, and he transformed what should have been an easy 2-0 victory into a pitched battle.

“Perhaps Rodri will grow from his experiences. He needs to master self-control over his feelings. Rodri is not authorized, but I can receive a yellow card,” head coach Pep Guardiola declared. “You have to maintain self-control no matter what. Because I dislike playing with ten people, I’m upset. We fell into the trap, despite my warnings to the players to be cautious during the 0-0 draw because it had happened in the final ten minutes of the first half.”

After Rodri received the first red card of his career, Manchester City managed to win the game, but they were missing a special player for the next three games. Without the Spaniard’s physical and mental influence in the middle, they suffered losses to Wolves and Newcastle.

Arsenal, a team that challenges for the crown, is Man City’s opponent here. They won’t have the player on the field who Guardiola called “the best defensive midfielder in Europe” just a week ago. Because they are adept at solving puzzles, Manchester City has handled the absence of Kevin De Bruyne, John Stones, Jack Grealish, Bernardo Silva, and Guardiola for extended periods of time this season. distinct weeks.

Though Manchester City believed they had found a suitable alternative for Rodri when they paid 42 million pounds ($51 million) for Kalvin Phillips last summer, there is still no obvious choice. The England midfielder might be the obvious pick to take Rodri’s position, but he is unlikely to get another chance following his lackluster showing at St. James’ Park, especially given the increased pressure.

From modest athlete to Istanbul hero

At the Etihad Stadium, Rodri was frequently disregarded, and it took some time for others to fully see the value he contributed to Manchester City. On the field, he gives it his all, but off it, he doesn’t stand out. Take into account that he studied for a business administration degree, lived in a dorm, drove a Mini to training, and played for Villarreal in La Liga.

After moving from Atletico Madrid for £62 million ($75 million) in 2019, he had a strong start to his career at Manchester City, but he found it difficult to separate out in a star-studded lineup. and turned into a “famous” case after losing to Chelsea in the 2021 Champions League final.

After that disastrous night at Porto, though, he really came into his own, scoring seven Premier League goals the next season, including a crucial equalizer against Aston Villa on a thrilling championship day. He scored the game-winning goal against Inter in the Champions League final and the striking first goal against Bayern Munich in the quarterfinals of the previous season, demonstrating his ability to shine in the biggest occasions.

Very good

Rodri quietly exceeded everyone this season, and his goal in Istanbul gave him the credit he deserved. In addition to getting the ball back the most times (18.5 times) per 1,000 opponent touches, he makes more contact with the ball on average than any other midfielder in the Premier League (103 times per game).

Apart from exerting control over the game from a distance, he was instrumental in generating opportunities by making numerous passes into the end zone (265). With 260 passes into the goal area, he has the third-best total and the fifth-best pass completion percentage (91 percent). Not only does he have better technique, but he’s also physically dominant. In spatial duels, he came in third place with a 68.5 percent victory rate.

With only Real Madrid’s Toni Kroos at the same level in that area the previous year in Europe’s top five leagues, Rodri has become the most unpressable midfield player in the league over the last two seasons thanks to his combination of technical skill and physical capability.

Man City doesn’t always get along without Rodri

Nobody on Guardiola’s Manchester City team can perform as well as Rodri, despite the fact that the team is packed of quality, particularly in midfield. Additionally, Manchester City frequently struggles when he is unavailable.

Manchester City has only lost five games in the 90-minute format in 2023: two in the Carabao Cup against Southampton and Newcastle, and three in the Premier League against Tottenham, Brentford, and Wolves (the latter of which is meaningless). due to Manchester City’s quick championship victory). In all those matches, Rodri only made one appearance. Rodri has only played in four of Manchester City’s nine losses in the 2021–2022 season in all competitions.

According to Sky Sports analyst Gary Neville, Rodri’s absence from the important game against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium “balances” it, and “Manchester City have no one to replace him.” equivalently.

Examine Rodri’s record in comparison to Phillips’s, his potential successor. Since leaving Leeds in 2022, the England international has only appeared in five games, three of which have resulted in losses.

Phillips was amazed Although Rodri and Bielsa Phillips are both 27 years old, their professions are not the same. Rodri started his professional career with Villarreal’s reserve squad in the third division of Spanish football, but by the time he was twenty years old, he was playing regularly in La Liga.

At the same time, Phillips made his debut for Leeds; nevertheless, he played four seasons in the English Championship, which is a very different league for developing technical players. Nevertheless, he emerged as one of the most important members of Marcelo Bielsa’s thrilling team, who finished the 2018–19 season barely short of promotion and then made an official return to the Premier League.

Guardiola finds inspiration in Bielsa’s coaching style, therefore it’s hardly surprising that Bielsa is drawn to Phillips. After Leeds made an outstanding comeback to the Premier League, the midfield player’s worth skyrocketed, and he played in every game as England advanced to the Euro 2020 championship.

Weight issues and injuries

Because of Phillips’ contempt for the Red Devils, Manchester United and Manchester City had competition when it came to signing the midfield player in August 2022. But a shoulder injury sustained in a friendly match against Barcelona in August delayed his debut with the blue squad, and when it reappeared in September, he had to have surgery.

Prior to the World Cup in Qatar, he was only involved in four games, and upon the return of the season, he was once more benched. Surprisingly, Guardiola disclosed that Phillips had returned from Qatar “fat” when questioned about his absence in December.

Despite his full recovery and return to the starting lineup, Phillips is still benched for most games. Only two senior Premier League appearances were made by him at the end of the season, and both came after the squad had won the championship.

Even though Guardiola chose to rest the majority of his regular players in the FA Cup semi-final match against Sheffield United, he only made one senior appearance, against Bristol City. Regretfully, his most memorable moment during Manchester City’s triple title win was when he accidentally put a drink into Jack Grealish’s mouth while the team was celebrating.

The fact that Guardiola has discussed the necessity of giving Rodri some rest makes Phillips’ lack of playing time even more unexpected. In January, the coach stated, “He has to compete with Rodri for the good of all of us.” “Rodri needs the sensation of someone being close to him in order to fall asleep. He must carry out that task.

Pep gave Phillips a lot of praise, but

Phillips was eventually given the opportunity by Rodri’s suspension, and he was called up right away for the Forest game by Guardiola, who employed a five-at-the-back formation and instructed City to defend deep. Within that environment, Phillips fulfilled his responsibilities and flourished.

“I know sometimes he struggles with some of the things we need – in small spaces to be quick more, and the other players have a different type of quality,” Guardiola said, praising his effort but remaining critical of his ability. However, he made a significant contribution to our team’s success in today’s game by helping us win the second ball, hold onto the ball, and generate plays down the line, individually in long passes, even in corners, knowing that Forest, our opponent, would make a lot of diagonal passes.”

Use Grealish and Ake as inspiration.

“Probably the most important weeks of my City career so far” are what Phillips described as the next two weeks in an interview with the media following the Forest match. In addition, he acknowledged that he declined the chance to go on loan in the summer and declared that he was motivated by Nathan Ake and Jack Grealish’s accomplishments to have a prosperous career with the team. In his second season, he showed improvement following a poor start in Manchester’s blue area.

“I stated I wanted to stay and give it another go as I helped with the preparations for the upcoming season. I had an opportunity, and many athletes in prior years achieved success in their second season. spoke with the club, and they expressed their willingness to grant my request to go on loan. I just responded, “No, that’s not what I’m thinking.” “I want to concentrate solely on playing for Manchester City,” Phillips stated to the media.

“Players like Jack and Nathan, who have always inspired me, have shown me time and time again that the second season at City is always better. That hasn’t happened (for me) obviously, but I just show up, work hard, and maintain my optimism despite how hard it is. This club has a ton of excellent players who can constantly push me to get better. My goal is to remain composed, work hard in my training, and seize any opportunity that presents itself.”

played poorly in the game against Newcastle

At the Newcastle game, though, Phillips did not capitalize on his opportunity. Despite dominating the first half, Man City’s ball possession yielded few opportunities and only a few half-chances. The best chance of the first half for Newcastle was caused by a mistake on Phillips’ part, albeit Josko Gvardiol’s open pass did not help either.

Looking at the statistics on forward passes, you can see that Rodri is constantly trying to exert pressure on his opponents, while Phillips plays too safe and frequently kicks the ball backward. During the second half, he attempted to loft long balls over the top, but his attempts were frequently off target.

When it comes to defense, Phillips lacks Rodri’s physical presence and initiative. He was also unaware of Alexander Isak’s goal, which was the sole goal of the game, and failed to recognize him. Rico Lewis, who didn’t really stand out, was more to blame for the defeat than Phillips because he failed to stop a pass to Isak.

Will Phillips have another chance?

Guardiola made an effort to compliment Phillips’ performance at St. James’ Park, but he lacked enthusiasm. “He played very well,” he remarked. Exceptionally well. Lack of tempo, pace, or playing time makes that difficult.”

But in the following game against Wolves, head coach Pep Guardiola started Kovacic and Matheus Nunes instead of Phillips. The English midfielder might find it challenging to start the game against Arsenal. We might therefore draw the conclusion that Kalvin Phillips is unable to take Rodri’s place at Man City.