Manchester City beat Crystal Palace on Saturday and will take a 25-game unbeaten run to the Bernabeu for the first leg of the Champions League quarter-final first leg against Real Madrid this week.
Having already fallen behind, Manchester City were living dangerously at Selhurst Park. Kevin De Bruyne’s wonderful equaliser ensured parity but the Blues were ropey at the back and Crystal Palace sensed an opportunity.
They had already hit the bar on the break through Jordan Ayew and when City couldn’t clear another attack, Rodri stepped in to seemingly restore some calm. Except he did exactly the opposite.
In passing back to goalkeeper Stefan Ortega, Rodri hadn’t seen goalscorer Jean-Philippe Mateta directly in front of the German. Ortega had to act quickly, pulling off a smart Cruyff-turn in front of his own goal to avert a calamitous second for the hosts. It was footwork that Ederson, on the bench, would have been proud of.
Rodri was off the pace at Palace but Guardiola denied the influential Spaniard was more tired or overworked than anyone else in the team. “Normally the players look tired when the team is not playing good. Did you see tiredness in the second half with Rodri? Not at all,” he said. “In the first half he was so tired, he was missing too much, our process was not good. He was in positions he shouldn’t be.
“In the second half he was more there and the result was better, 2-1… in that moment you are not tired. At 0-1 you are tired. Football is that. With the physicality, on Wednesday he played 70 minutes, today 75. We can reduce the minutes. Rodri is so strong in that terms and that’s good.”
It is unthinkable that Rodri wouldn’t start against Real Madrid, but his struggles at Selhurst didn’t go unnoticed by Guardiola and if he is not 100 per cent then there is a decision to be made. Rodri will need to improve and be on point mentally at the Bernabeu for Madrid will not be as forgiving as Palace.
Meanwhile, Ortega’s footwork to get Rodri out of jail continued a five-game run of impressive performances standing in for Ederson. This one was different though, with Ederson on the bench. It was only the third time Ortega has started in the Premier League ahead of Ederson – ignoring the two games at the end of last season when City had won the title and were focussing on other competitions. It was just Ortega’s ninth league appearance in two years.
His Cruydff-turn was right out of the Ederson play-book and Ortega’s distribution was as solid as ever. If places are earned on form, then Ortega must be in line to start at the Bernabeu.
“I have to think about it because Eddy came from an injury,” Guardiola said after the game. “He feels good I think so now I have to decide about the lack of rhythm. But we are really pleased with Stefan. He’s an exceptional goalkeeper.
“I needed fresh legs today, to rest people. Everybody wants to play [vs Madrid] but I have to see. The doctors will knock on the door tomorrow and say who we can count on and who we can’t.”
Just like with Rodri, not playing Ederson would have been unthinkable even a month ago. The midfielder’s place is far more secure than the goalkeeper’s, but Guardiola’s comments suggest nothing is certain. At the very least, Rodri looks likely to play less in the run-in to manage his minutes for the biggest games.
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