Game of Numbers #22 – Rodri’s Champions League redemption story

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Rodri never needed to redeem himself, but Pep Guardiola likely did after leaving his prized defensive midfielder out of the Champions League final against Chelsea two seasons ago. The Spanish midfielder has been immaculate this campaign, helping to dictate much of City’s stellar possession and defensive solidity.

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Easily the best defensive midfielder in the world at the moment, Rodri has been integral to City’s success all season long at the heart of their midfield. It was a perfect ending to the fairytale for the Spaniard to cap off a wonderful season with that decisive Champions League final goal, but his performance was about so much more. Here is the final Game of Numbers for the European 2022-23 season.

POSITIONING & ROLE

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Rodri played as the sole operator in front of the back-three build, taking that lone slot as John Stones and İlkay Gündoğan floated about in the half-spaces ahead, and KDB/Foden played more like a ’10’.

City’s shape in possession then became more often a 3-1-5-1 as opposed to that 3+2 build-up we’ve seen with Stones entering central channels to form a double-pivot alongside the 26-year-old. Vertical progressions via up-and-back combinations helped to constantly release space for players to carry the ball into vacated space, partially unlocking Inter’s narrow defense.

Rodri played a critical role in forming those up-back combinations, completing 12 passes into the final third, all six of his long passes, and 92% of his total passes according to Fotmob.

But on the other side of the spectrum, he also played the role of being able to bounce the ball backwards to his centre-backs, giving them more room to carry the ball forward out from the back.

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When the ball changed hands, Rodri again played a critical role in helping City win back possession and stunt quick counter attacks. He made six recoveries in Inter’s half, and won 100% of his defensive and loose-ball duels.

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Wonderfully anchoring that midfield would then allow Stones and Gundogan to push further forward, with less of a need to worry about City’s rest-defense against stern counter attacking options. It was everything they missed two seasons ago against Chelsea.

It also freed up City’s centre-backs to continuing marking Inter’s front-two before the John Stones could transition into that back-four. Rodri became the man responsible for covering counters in the wide areas, as the other midfielders fell back into central roles.

Essentially, he played as more of what we’d classify as an ‘Anchor’, holding more critical responsibilities through his off-the-ball positioning and out-of-possession shuffling than his ‘deep-lying’ long-passing seen in that usual ‘Deep-Lying Playmaker‘ role. He held those responsibilities absolutely brilliantly, ensuring Inter’s quest became all the more difficult.

RODRI’S KEY REMARKABILITIES

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Rodri will be remembered in this match for his goal, but there are so many aspects to his game that made his performance (all season) so spectacular. The Spanish midfielder excels under pressure, using his physicality to drive with the ball away from any player attempting to track him closely.

He knows when to release the ball at the optimal moment to either find his teammates in space or avoid the unwanted attention being thrust upon himself, and always looks supremely calm in possession.

That can manifest in the form of progressive carries and dribbles, to which the Spanish midfielder completed 100% against Inter. But it can also nicely come in moments of forward passing, where Rodri again hit 100% in finding his teammates. In this match, that became key in engaging Erling Haaland as he floated toward the ball at different moments, and invited Inter to foul the Norwegian striker.

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As City reached the final third, Rodri again became imperative as an unmarked late arrival. Inter compacted the field both horizontally and vertically, with every number possible behind the ball. But this allowed the likes of Rodri and the centre-backs to get on the ball outside the eighteen, and try to create something extra for the Citizens.

That became key in the scoring of his goal, when all of Inter’s players collapsed on the keeper trying to stop Bernardo Silva from working his magic. That gave Rodri all the room he needed to exploit the gap and let fly.

As we all know, Rodri is a magnificent striker of the ball, and can score from range when you give him the opportunity. He scored 7 goals in 33 appearances in 2021-22, and it was no surprise to see him increase his tally to 4 goals for the season on City’s final game.

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But in wonderfully sticking to his role in and out of possession, Rodri deserves so much credit for his man of the match performance beyond just the goal. The best part of all is that Rodri’s easily been one of the five best players in all of Europe this season, and with that goal, anyone who wasn’t convinced will now surely take notice. He’s been brilliant all season long, and this was a perfect way to end the season for both Manchester City, and one of their greatest assets.

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Check out all previous issues of Game of Numbers! Thanks for reading and see you soon!

-> Game of Numbers #21: How to play as the ‘Target’ like Sébastien Haller
-> Game of Numbers #20 – Konrad Laimer’s box to box engine
-> Game of Numbers #14 – Ilkay Gündoğan’s Movement Masterclass

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