Why Rodri Was Subbed Off After Being Subbed on During Man City 3-4 Al-Hilal
Why Rodri Was Subbed Off After Being Subbed on During Man City 3-4 Al-Hilal
The reason why Rodri was subbed off after being subbed on during Manchester City’s shock 4-3 defeat to Al-Hilal has now been revealed after highlights of his performance went viral. Having navigated a flawless group stage and earned the most prize money in the Club World Cup so far, Pep Guardiola’s side were expecting a straightforward Round of 16 tie against their Saudi Arabian opponents on Monday night.
Instead, it was anything but easy. Despite registering 30 shots, enjoying 69 per cent possession, and scoring through Bernardo Silva, Erling Haaland, and Phil Foden, the Cityzens were undone by a combination of Ederson’s errors and Al-Hilal’s resilience (watch the highlights below). It meant yet another early exit and another competition ending in disappointment for a side that went trophyless last season for the first time since the 2016/17 campaign.
While Marcos Leonardo’s 112th-minute winner was the moment that sealed City’s fate, another alarming sight for supporters came with Rodri’s substitution, just 47 minutes after coming on at Orlando’s Camping World Stadium. The Spaniard, who won the 2023 Ballon d’Or, was making only his fifth appearance since returning from a serious knee injury, and there are growing concerns he may have suffered a fresh setback.
Rodri Sustained Another Injury Setback During Al-Hilal 4-3 Man City
Pep Guardiola has addressed the concerns
Rodri’s knee injury was a major reason why Man City suffered a trophyless season last time out, prompting the recruitment team to bring in adequate cover through the signing of Feyenoord’s Tijjani Reijnders.
Even still, no one in the City camp would have hoped the Dutchman would actually be needed as cover – but that could now prove to be the case, after Guardiola confirmed Rodri, one of the best players in the world right now, has sustained another possible setback in his recovery.
The Spanish midfielder entered as a 53-minute replacement but was forced off in the 100th by what Guardiola stated was an injury. The manager said, as per the Guardian (watch his highlights below):
“Rodri – he complained about his situation.”
Pep Guardiola Looks At Positives From Club World Cup
The Cityzens will now have a longer recovery period than they initially expected
Pep Guardiola
Guardiola refused to elaborate on Rodri’s condition but chose instead to focus on the positives from his side’s Club World Cup performance. “We would have loved to have continued – it is only here every four years,” he said. “We had a feeling that the team is doing well, but now we go home, and it is time to rest physically and rest our minds for the new season.”
The Catalan was then asked whether he had seen enough to believe City can challenge again next term. “It is too early to say,” Guardiola replied.
“But there have been so many good things I did not see in the [recent] past. The relationship between the players, our captain [Silva] helped a lot, and the standards from our staff – I felt we were happy here. The training sessions have been really good.”
“[But] Al-Hilal has a lot of quality. They are a complete team that can run and run. I have a big opinion of them, but we [still] played a good game.” For the Saudi Arabian side, the result no doubt vindicated their ambitions of matching the rest of Europe in terms of quality, after spending the last two years proving their worth as a financial force in football.
They will now face Fluminense in the quarter-final on Friday night, while Man City will make the most of an extended summer after having initially feared the side effects of a congested fixture schedule.