From a personal perspective, it was a special week in Rodri's career.
The 27-year-old not only scored two penalties in Spain's game against Brazil on Tuesday night, but the 3-3 draw meant he now goes a full year without tasting defeat while on the field for club and country. I was able to do that.
This equates to 61 games, 366 days, and nearly 5,000 minutes of soccer time, and continues to grow.
You might think this is an arbitrary statistic. While you'd be right to say that it's unnecessary to any broader discussion of City's title bid, it's worth taking a moment to pause and soak in the impressive record of Manchester City's midfield maestro.
Rodri after Spain v Scotland on March 28, 2023 – the last time he tasted defeat (Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)
Let's start by analyzing the numbers.
Since Spain's defeat to Scotland on March 28, 2023, Rodri has gone unbeaten in seven competitions for club and country. During that time, he won the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup and Super Cup with Manchester City, and helped Spain to victory in the UEFA Nations League by scoring in a penalty shoot-out against Croatia.
And yes, Arsenal may have won the 2023 Community Shield on penalties, but as we all know by now, penalties exist to decide which matches are finished. Records show that the match ended in a draw.
At club level, he has the chance to do it all again this year as City continue to fight on three fronts in their quest for an unprecedented double.
Going back further in the Premier League, Manchester City won 3-1 against Manchester United in early March, and Rodri went on a 59-game unbeaten run, which he held at Chelsea from November 2006 to February 2008. He broke Ricardo Carvalho's 58-game unbeaten record.
“It's a matter of great pride for me to be able to go unbeaten for such a long time. But of course I'm not chasing these individual results,” Rodri said in last week's Spain vs. Colombia match. He spoke before the battle.
“If it means I can help the team, of course that's great, but only if it leads to collective trophies and victories. Talking with friends over dinner or for a short time You can praise it, but really, my goal and what I'm chasing is the title.”
Rodri scored the winning goal in the Champions League final (Giuseppe Maffia/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Before you scroll down to the comments section, The Athletic To make something very clear:
You never know that Rodri happens to be playing for the best team on the planet (coupled with the fact that his national team has one of the best soccer pedigrees of the 21st century).
Yes, the 27-year-old is very likely to win a lot of matches anyway. But it's because Rodri is playing for those teams that they are invincible.
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Comparing team performance with or without a particular player is inherently flawed in football – it is difficult to infer causality between the presence or absence of a player in the broader context of team performance. When you think about it — but one look at Rodri's numbers is quite interesting.
Using data from Opta via fbref.com, the Spaniard's 'on-off' data compares the difference between City's goals and expected goals (xG) per 90 minutes when Rodri is on the pitch and when he is off the pitch. ” indicators.
As you can see below, Rodri's importance to Pep Guardiola's relentless winning machine grows with each season. Previously, City were not daunted by the absence of the Spaniard (see 2019-20 to 2021-22), but in the past two seasons City have had a midfield metronome on their side, allowing them to create chances and goals. has been shown to be much more sensitive.
This fact was made clear to City fans earlier this season, when Rodri's red card for violent behavior against Nottingham Forest resulted in a three-match suspension and a second successive league defeat for City (plus a Carabao Cup exit). It became painfully clear. This was the first time this has happened since December 2018.
Rodri's impact has been huge, functioning as one of the game's most elite defensive midfielders, both on and off the ball, and City struggle without him. , often due to Guardiola shuffling the puck too much in an attempt to overcompensate for the Spaniard's absence.
Rodri was sent off against Forest (James Gill – Danehouse/Getty Images)
Guardiola said after City lost 2-1 to Wolverhampton Wanderers in September: “Without Rodri, we wanted to protect the ball more. We have players who are really good on the ball.'' He explained the reason why he packed players into the midfield. They dominated the pitch with three midfielders and two narrow wingers, but their two goals conceded was not enough to defend them.
even deeper
Three games and three losses without Rodri: What lessons can City learn?
Last autumn's mini-crisis showed that Rodri's importance to City's play was clear, even when added to the context of a long absentee list for the 1-0 defeat to Newcastle in the League Cup – and No one knows that better than his club manager.
“He's the best midfielder in the world at the moment. He can do anything,” Guardiola said after Rodri's equalizer led to a 1-1 draw against Chelsea in February.
“What a sign. Without him, it's hard to understand how we could have accomplished what we've done all these years.”
For those few people who may need to understand Rodri's qualities, it's worth reminding himself of just how much of an influence he will have on City going forward.
Erling Haaland may have the lion's share of shots on goal, and an uninjured Kevin De Bruyne may be praised as a catalyst for creativity, but if you look at every shot-end sequence in open play , you can be sure that City's midfield is definitely good. The general's fingerprints will be left on many routes to the goal.
Rodri's role is not to be a difference-maker at the sharp end of the pitch, but it's worth noting that nine of his 20 career goals in the Premier League have given City the lead in the match – including scoring the winning goal. Needless to say. In the 2023 Champions League final against Inter Milan.
Of course, Rodri's best traits stand out by the tough tackling and defense he provides, as well as his ability to set the tempo on the ball. He may occasionally drift wide, but his positional awareness will keep him primarily between the width of the penalty area.
On the half-turn, pass the ball to Rodri with his back to the goal or facing the attacker. In either of those scenarios, you can be confident that possession will remain firmly in City's hands, with sure possession and possession that few midfielders in European football can match.
Using SkillCorner's data, we can investigate how often midfielders are under pressure on the ball “per team's 30 minutes” (taking into account the differences in opportunities to perform certain actions). Here, Rodri receives 59.6 pressures per 30 minutes of possession, ranking sixth highest in Europe's top five leagues, thanks to City's style of dominating the ball and drawing opponents closer.
In addition to this, let's take a look at the percentage of pressure situations in which midfielders have had possession of the ball this season. According to this metric, only Real Madrid's Toni Kroos recorded a higher rate of possession under pressure than Rodri's 93 percent.
Simply put, Rodri is elite in his ability to be City's release valve under pressure. As well as being one of the most pressing midfielders in Europe, he almost always ensures that he or his team-mates get the ball out.
even deeper
There are few midfielders who are good at pressing, and they attract high transfer fees.
Whether it's stopping opponents from fighting back or igniting the engine of City's momentum-driven style, Rodri's stock in world football has never been higher.
He may not want to stop at individual accolades, but a year of undefeated club and national teams is a record to be celebrated.
(Top photo: James Gill – Danehouse/Getty Images)
