Manchester City 2-0 Dinamo Zagreb: 5 Hits and Flops | Champions League 2019/20

#1 Rodri – Hit

Rodri

In the summer of 2019, Manchester City broke the bank to acquire Rodri. The Spaniard had earned rave reviews for his displays at Atletico Madrid and seemed the perfect long-term replacement for Fernandinho.

And, in the formative stages of the season, the midfielder has proved that those notions weren’t too far off the mark. Against Zagreb, Rodri bossed the middle of the park and was a colossus in midfield. On numerous occasions, he recovered possession and also seemed to get to every loose ball quicker than his rivals.

Moreover, he displayed exemplary positional awareness to slot in between the centre backs and orchestrate the play. On other instances, he pushed the team higher up the pitch and even won the ball back near the Zagreb penalty area a couple of times.

However, the most impressive aspect of his performance was the way he distributed the ball. Often dubbed the ‘new Sergio Busquets’, the Spaniard sprayed passes all around the pitch and rarely put a foot wrong.

Rodri was also instrumental in the Cityzens’ opener as he scythed through the Zagreb defence with a perfectly weighted through ball for Mahrez. The Algerian then squared the ball for Sterling to prod the ball home.

After a sensational 2018-19 season, many felt that the Sky Blues couldn’t improve further. Yet, courtesy Rodri, they’ve somehow managed to add another dimension to their side. And, with more time under his belt, the Spaniard would only get better; not something the rest of Europe would particularly be keen to hear.