Manchester City Have Lost a Third of League Games Without Rodri, so Can Title Rivals Capitalise?

After studies emerged suggesting Rodri might miss the remainder of the 2024-25 season with an ACL damage, we have a look at Manchester Metropolis’s document with out the Spanish midfielder.

When Rodri fell to the bottom after an innocuous conflict with Arsenal’s Thomas Partey within the nineteenth minute of Sunday’s 2-2 draw on the Etihad Stadium, it didn’t look like a second that would change Manchester Metropolis’s season.

Nonetheless, 24 hours later, studies now recommend Rodri will miss a big interval, and even perhaps the rest of the 2024-25 season after apparently tearing his anterior cruciate ligament.

There’s no query that Manchester Metropolis are weaker with out Rodri within the facet. Coach Pep Guardiola is aware of this too, as he used his compatriot extra usually than another participant in all competitions final season.

Rodri began extra matches (50) than any of his teammates in 2023-24, whereas he additionally performed probably the most minutes (4,325). He then went on to play at Euro 2024 for Spain, beginning six of their seven matches earlier than struggling an damage and being withdrawn at half-time of the ultimate victory towards England.

That hamstring damage additionally stored him out of Man Metropolis’s opening three league video games of this season, earlier than he returned as a half-time substitute of their 2-1 win over Brentford on Matchday 4.

Having performed the complete 90 minutes in Metropolis’s 0-0 draw with Inter within the UEFA Champions League final week, followers would have hoped Rodri’s damage issues had been behind him, however their worst fears have now seemingly come to cross.

Since signing for the membership in 2019-20, Rodri has solely missed 21 of Manchester Metropolis’s 195 Premier League matches. In all competitions, he’s performed extra video games than another Premier League participant in that point (260), whereas no outfielder has began as many (238). He’s additionally second (20,555) to solely Bruno Fernandes (20,727) for minutes performed in all competitions by Premier League outfielders at membership stage since 2019-20. You may add in 50 nationwide group appearances for Spain in that timeframe for good measure.

Solely final week did Rodri stress that gamers may need to take industrial motion concerning the variety of matches they’re anticipated to play in fashionable soccer, suggesting some might select to go on strike if the scenario doesn’t change. His potential season-ending damage towards Arsenal just a few days later was a merciless reminder of the stresses positioned on modern-day footballers.

What would possibly Rodri’s damage imply for Manchester Metropolis then? Properly, the stats clearly present they’re weaker when he’s absent.

Since his Premier League debut in August 2019, Metropolis have misplaced a 3rd of their video games with out Rodri within the facet (7 of 21). Three got here within the first half of final season, with defeats towards Wolves, Arsenal and Aston Villa coming earlier than his return to the facet steadied the ship and helped ship a document fourth consecutive Premier League title.

Total, their win price is over 12 proportion factors decrease when he’s lacking in comparison with when he’s appeared throughout these seasons, whereas they’re much less dominant at each ends of the pitch, averaging a optimistic aim distinction of 1.70 when he performs in comparison with 1.29 when he doesn’t.

Their common points-per-game determine with out Rodri will alarm Metropolis followers, too. In averaging 1.90 factors per sport when he’s lacking, Metropolis would tally 76 this season if that common had been to proceed throughout their remaining 33 video games of 2024-25; that may be 15 under their league-winning whole final season (91). In fact, that’s a really fundamental evaluation utilizing top-level knowledge, however it might nonetheless be sufficient to fret Guardiola.

Rodri was on the centre of all the pieces Man Metropolis did within the Premier League final season. He was the one participant to common greater than 100 profitable passes per sport (103), whereas nobody noticed as a lot of the ball as he did, together with his 126 touches per 90 minutes 24 greater than any of his teammates within the competitors. He additionally led the Premier League rankings for open-play sequence involvements per 90 (2,000+ minutes performed), with 8.4.

On the time of his substitution yesterday, Metropolis had been successful 1-0 towards Arsenal and arguably in management. Simply 43 seconds later, they surrendered their lead after Riccardo Calafiori’s excellent equaliser and fell behind simply earlier than half-time.

True, Metropolis coped simply nice with out him of their opening three video games of this season with routine wins over Chelsea, Ipswich and West Ham, however tougher challenges await the champions, together with a tough away sport at Newcastle United on Saturday.

It was urged that John Stones’ dramatic late equaliser towards Arsenal may very well be a big second on this season’s title race, however maybe it wasn’t probably the most vital second of Sunday’s sport in spite of everything.

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