Pep Guardiola Admits Man City Needs to Find How To Win Without Rodri

The manager of Manchester City, Pep Guardiola has admitted that his team would have to find a way to start winning games without their Spanish defensive midfielder, Rodri.

The 27-year-old Rodri was absent from the Aston Villa game because he is serving a one-match suspension. His absence in the game was heavily felt by the reigning Premier League champions.

Before the Aston Villa game, Manchester City have recorded three draws – against Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, and Liverpool without Rodri. Their 1-0 defeat to Villa without the Spanish midfieder on Wednesday, confirmed his relevance at the club.

Manchester City have been unbeaten in 43 matches with Rodri starting, hence, after City’s 1-0 defeat to Aston Villa on Wednesday night, Guardiola stressed that he and his coaching crew have “to find a way to win without him”.

The four-game run without a win marks the first time since April 2017 that Manchester City has gone four games without winning in the Premier League.

In their Premier League game against Aston Villa, Manchester City recorded the worst possible stats as they only managed to record just two shots, the fewest ever by a Guardiola team in a game within Europe’s big five leagues in 532 games.

Also, Aston Villa recorded 22 shots against Manchester City which was the joint highest number of shots a team coached by Pep Guardiola has ever faced.

After the game, Pep Guardiola told Amazon Prime that his team was struggling and he had to find a way to help them return to winning ways.

“We struggled, especially in the first half and the second was completely different,” he said. “In the final third, the quality of the pass and the movement, we didn’t find it all game.

“We know what’s our level and as a manager, we have to find a way to win games. We’re struggling a bit. I’m here to help them.”

Pep Guardiola and his boys are currently sitting in the 4th spot with 30 points in 15 games, 6 points below first-placed Arsenal.