The £42m England international was supposed to relieve the pressure on the Spaniard, and now has the perfect chance to prove himself – can he take it?
Pep Guardiola does not usually point his finger at individual players in press conferences, but this time was different. This time he was furious with Rodri for getting sent off against Nottingham Forest and turning a comfortable 2-0 stroll into a dogfight.
"Hopefully Rodri will learn. He had to control himself and his emotions. I can get a yellow card, but Rodri can't," said the manager. "Whatever happens, you have to control yourself. I am angry, because I don't like playing with 10 men. I said to the players at half-time to be careful because of what had happened in the last 10 minutes [of the first half], but we fell into the trap."
City came through that match unscathed but the red card – the first of Rodri's career – leaves them without their most unique player for three matches. They have already lost the first, going down 1-0 to Newcastle to exit the Carabao Cup as they badly missed the physical and mental presence of the Spaniard in the midfield.
There is no respite as City head to Wolves on Saturday and then title rivals Arsenal a week on Sunday without the player that only last week Guardiola hailed as "the best holding midfielder in Europe". City are used to finding solutions to problems, and this season already they have successfully dealt with the loss of Kevin De Bruyne, John Stones, Jack Grealish and Bernardo Silva, as well as Guardiola himself, for various weeks.
But there is no obvious replacement for Rodri, even though City thought they had signed one last summer when they paid £42 million ($51m) for Kalvin Phillips. The England midfielder should be the natural choice to deputise for Rodri, but after an unconvincing performance at St James' Park he is far from guaranteed another chance, especially when the stakes will be much higher.
(C)Getty ImagesHumble student to hero of Istanbul
Rodri has often flown under the radar at the Etihad Stadium, and it has taken a while for people to truly appreciate what he offers City. Although he gives everything on the pitch, he is unassuming off it. Take the fact that when he was playing in La Liga for Villarreal, he continued to study a degree in business administration and lived in student accommodation, driving a Mini to training.
He had a solid start to his City career after his £62m ($75m) switch from Atletico Madrid in 2019, but struggled to truly stand out in a team of stars and was infamously left out of the 2021 Champions League final defeat to Chelsea.
He truly came into his own after that disappointing night in Porto, though, and the following campaign struck seven Premier League goals, including the crucial equaliser against Aston Villa on the dramatic final day. Last season, he continued to step up in the biggest moments, netting a scorching opener against Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarter-final and the only goal in the final against Inter.
AdvertisementGettyTop of the class
His strike in Istanbul gave Rodri the recognition he deserved after a campaign in which he quietly stood above every one else. He averaged more touches than any other Premier League midfielder (103 per match), while also making the most ball recoveries (18.5) per 1,000 opponent touches.
As well as controlling the play from deep, he had a crucial role in chance creation, making the most passes into the final third (265). He had the third-highest number of passes into the area (260) and the fifth best pass completion rate (91 per cent). As well as being in a league of his own technically, he was physically imposing. He ranked third for aerial duels, winning 68.5 percent.
Rodri's combination of technical ability and his physical prowess made him the most press-resistant midfielder in the league in the last two seasons, while the only player on his level in that category in Europe's top-five leagues last campaign was Real Madrid's Toni Kroos.
Getty ImagesPoor record without Rodri; poorer one with Phillips
While City have a squad brimming with talent, particularly in midfield, there is no one in Guardiola's squad who can do what Rodri does. And when he is not available, City tend to suffer.
In 2023, City have only lost four competitive matches over 90 minutes: the Carabao Cup defeats to Southampton and Newcastle, and the league defeats to Tottenham and Brentford (the latter was a dead-rubber as City had already wrapped up the title). Rodri started just one of those games. In the 2021-22 season, City lost nine matches in all competitions; Rodri started just four of them.
pundit Gary Neville said that Rodri's forthcoming absence at the Emirates Stadium "levels up" the crunch fixture with Arsenal, adding that "City don't have anyone who can replace him like-for-like".
Now contrast Rodri's record with that of Phillips, who in theory is his understudy. The England international has started just five matches since joining from Leeds in 2022, and three of them have ended in defeat.
GettyImpressing Bielsa
Phillips and Rodri are both aged 27 but have had contrasting careers. Although Rodri began his professional career in the third tier of Spanish football with Villarreal's reserve team, he was playing regularly in La Liga by the time he was 20.
Phillips broke into Leeds' first team at a similar time, but spent four seasons toiling in the Championship, which is far from the ideal place to nurture technical ability. Still, he turned into one of the most influential players of Marcelo Bielsa's thrilling side that just missed out on promotion in 2018-19, before clinching their long-awaited return to the Premier League following year.
Bielsa was one of Guardiola's coaching mentors and so it was unsurprising that Phillips caught his attention. The midfielder's stock rose even higher following Leeds' impressive return to the top-flight, and as he started every game in England's run to the Euro 2020 final.