CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
When was the last time Rodri lost a game for Manchester City?
The Spanish midfielder set an English soccer unbeaten record in his side’s Premier League win over Manchester United last month.
Manchester City midfielder Rodri is not the flashiest of players, but the lynchpin of the 2023/24 treble winners boasts an incredible record in English soccer.
The Spaniard set a new English soccer record in his team’s 3-1 Premier League victory over Manchester United at the start of March, his 59th consecutive game without suffering a single defeat. Rodri has extended that record in the subsequent month, taking his tally to 65 unbeaten matches ahead of the Champions League second leg against Real Madrid.
That incredible unbeaten streak came to an end on Wednesday as Real Madrid triumphed on penalty shootout, securing their place in the semifinals of the Champions League.
The record was previously held by former Chelsea defender Ricardo Carvalho, whose 58-game unbeaten run stretched from November 2006 to February 2008.
When was Rodri’s last defeat for Man City?
The last time the Spaniard was on the losing side at club level was on 5 February 2023 in a 1-0 league defeat away to Tottenham Hotspur. He was an unused substitute when City lost by the same scoreline on the final day of the season at Brentford and hasn’t featured in any of their four defeats so far in 2023-24.
After being sent off in the win over Nottingham Forest on 23 September, Rodri was handed a three-match ban. Pep Guardiola’s side lost all three domestic games he missed (Newcastle United, Wolves and Arsenal). He also sat out December’s defeat to Aston Villa because of injury.
The former Atlético Madrid man was, however, on the losing side for Spain against Scotland at the end of March, the only loss he personally has suffered since that loss to Spurs.
Is Rodri Manchester City’s best player?
The 27-year-old broke the record in the derby victory over United a month ago, a game in which he also provided two assists. He has since featured in heavyweight clashes against Liverpool and Arsenal, which both ended in draws. City defeated Copenhagen in the Champions League and Newcastle United in the FA Cup in the other two.
As a result of Rodri’s superb form and importance to the team, Kalvin Phillips, who had been a regular fixture in the England team, was forced to leave City in the January transfer window for West Ham in order to get game time. While Erling Haaland, Kevin De Bruyne and Phil Foden receive most of the plaudits, the Spaniard has put forward a strong case to suggest he is Manchester City’s most important player.
“The holding midfielder has to play positive, for him and for the team, and make the team play. This is the role for the holding midfielders. All the highlights have to be for the guys up front who score goals and make assists and so on,” Pep Guardiola said in February.
“But Rodri always has the ability in important moments to score goals so he’s an unbelievable player. He’s the best midfield player in the world currently by far because he is able to do everything.”