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Oct 31, 2023

Rodri shows up Erling Haaland and Julian Alvarez to bail Man City out

Rodri bagged the winner for Manchester City against Sheffield United and more goals could be on the horizon Get the latest City team news, transfer stories, match updates and analysis delivered

Rodri bagged the winner for Manchester City against Sheffield United and more goals could be on the horizon

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Rodri scores.

The midfielder will be etched into Manchester City history forever after his winner in the Champions League final, and perhaps it will be a sentence that becomes more and more common. Just as the Blues looked to have thrown away two points at Bramall Lane, up stepped Rodri to slap in a winner that leaves them as the only team in the Premier League to have won their opening three games.

City's matchwinner in Istanbul is keen to add more goals to his game, and the addition of Mateo Kovacic and the presence of a defender moving up into midfield may allow him the freedom to do just that. Sheffield United could hardly have been said to be a fluke, given he had scored or assisted three of City's six goals from their opening four fixtures.

That is now four in eight after a late winner that shows that even if there is a large gap for improvement in the performances the team have been good enough so far with their results. There will be extra relief that they do not need to think about having to endure a trip to Sheffield United again for at least another season.

ALSO READ: Man City player ratings vs Sheffield United as Ruben Dias good

It was a game that everyone would have expected from this fixture, the home side starved of possession (mustering just over 16 per cent in the first half) but dogged and determined not to give away easy goals to the Premier League champions. Fellow promoted side Burnley were carved open inside four minutes yet the Blues had to work far harder here.

They had to do it without the constant orchestrating from Pep Guardiola too, absent for the next few weeks with a back injury that required surgery. In his absence, Juanma Lillo rarely left his chair never mind the technical area as he took on a watching rather than a shouting brief.

Kyle Walker, captain again as he started against his former club, certainly made up for that. He took advantage of an injury break midway through the first half to have strong words with Ruben Dias, Rodri, and Mateo Kovacic as the visitors tried to break the Sheffield resistance.

Minutes later, Kovacic stormed his way from the halfway line to the edge of the box and needed three opponents to bring him down. Then some excellent work by Erling Haaland to roll John Egan in the box saw the ball pop up in the box for Julian Alvarez but Wes Foderingham did well to turn it around the post.

Soon after, City had what they had worked for. Alvarez was played in on the left side of the box and his cutback for Haaland was handled by Egan to present a clear and obvious decision for the ref and a tap-in for a side who had scored all five of their penalties against Sevilla in the Super Cup.

Except the penalty gods are not that easily swayed, and Haaland sent the keeper the wrong way but saw his spot-kick come back off the inside of the post and rebound away from danger. Back to the drawing board for City, and quite possibly for whoever is in charge of assigning penalty duties.

That sparked the crowd, who hadn't had much to cheer about until then and sensed they could have an influence. They were to be proved wrong, though.

However scratchy a performance it was for City in attack, it was striking how comfortable they looked at the back on the back of two clean sheets in the league. Even without the injured John Stones and the ill Manu Akanji and the sold Aymeric Laporte and the outcast Joao Cancelo, the City defence was watertight.

This is exactly the sort of game that would have given them problems before last season, with a crowd in their face and a heavy underdog capable of springing a surprise but the transformation in the team has been striking. New addition Josko Gvardiol is still settling into that left-back role, although even he produced a wonderful turn in the air that hinted at what he can offer going forwards.

It is the lack of danger around the backline that is really special though. Ruben Dias got something of a hospital pass in the 15th minute but nonchalantly volleyed it back to Ederson without looking and on City moved; throughout the match, the home team got no joy either on the floor or in the air.

When the defence is as solid as that, it wears down teams just as much as waves of pressure at the other end do and gives City a confidence that they can keep pressing to find a goal knowing that they won't be compromised at the back. Equally for opponents, if your chances of scoring dry up there is more pressure on keeping tight at the other end.

City made their quality count in the second half, even if it wasn't straightforward. They had looked wasteful for the first 15 minutes after the break, with dead-ball routines messed up for consecutive corners. They never let Sheffield United off the hook though, and one brilliant ball through from Mateo Kovacic forced Foderingham into another great save to deny Haaland.

The transfer window is in full swing and City have been busy, with high-profile signings and sales aplenty.

City snapped up Croatian pair Mateo Kovacic and Josko Gvardiol from Chelsea and RB Leipzig respectively with the latest addition being Jeremy Doku. In terms of outgoings, Treble winner Ilkay Gundogan departed for Barcelona, while Aymeric Laporte and Riyad Mahrez moved to Saudi Arabia.

Our team of City experts will be on top of all the goings-on at the Etihad for the remainder of the summer window and beyond, and you can get the latest updates and inside information to your phone by joining our new free WhatsApp community below.

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The resistance would only last a few more minutes though as Jack Grealish chipped a cross to the back post for Haaland to nod in. It was harsh on Foderingham but nobody could say that City hadn't deserved it on the balance of their play.

From nowhere, the defence creaked. Ederson flapped unconvincingly at a cross and while Ruben Dias put in a textbook block to keep the ball out the home side sensed a weakness. An inexplicable backheel from Kyle Walker into his own penalty area surrendered possession again to the home team and this time there was no mistake as Jayden Bogle's shot flew past Ederson with a little help from Gvardiol.

Alvarez then missed a sitter in what looked like one of those frustrating afternoons when City just aren't sharp enough to see the game out, until Rodri popped up again.

He may not trouble Haaland but Rodri may trouble a lot more defences this season.