Man City’s win record with and without Rodri

Manchester City's most important player has been clear for quite some time now. It's not Ruben Dias, it's not Kevin De Bruyne and it might not even be the goalscoring robot they've got up top.

No, it's Rodri, the midfield enforcer who keeps Pep Guardola's all-conquering side ticking.

The former Atletico Madrid star had the unenviable task of replacing City stalwart Fernandinho at the base of their midfield, but Rodri, after a rocky start to his Premier League career, has blossomed into a distinct upgrade on the wily Brazilian.

The Spanish international has generally avoided major injury setbacks since his importance to Guardiola's side became clear, but City have had to endure periods without Rodri in the team.

Such periods have typically been brief, but a non-contact injury sustained in a chaotic 2-2 draw against Arsenal means the Cityzens are going to have to acclimatise to life without their steely enforcer for the remainder of the 2024/25 campaign.

When did Rodri get injured?

Kai Havertz made his presence known when he crashed into Rodri just five seconds into Arsenal's clash with the champions. Rodri certainly made the most of the clash, and cynics may have initially speculated that he was trying to get Thomas Partey into trouble after collapsing to the ground when attemtping to make a front-post run from a corner.

However, replays showed that Partey merely matched Rodri stride-for-stride with the Spaniard succumbing to the turf after twisting his knee. The midfielder was in considerable pain, and the injury forced him off after City had dominated the opening exchanges with the Gunners.

Reports regarding the severity of Rodri's injury were initially contrasting, and while there's not yet been official confirmation from the club, the midfielder is believed to have torn his ACL which will all but definitely end his 2024/25 campaign.

While City don't possess a like-for-like replacement, Guardiola does have options on the mitigation front. John Stones could perhaps be used at the base of midfield, while Ilkay Gundogan has previously shone in a #6 function. Mateo Kovacic was used in Rodri's absence at the start of the new season, and Matheus Nunes could play a bigger role in his second campaign at the club.

How does Manchester City's win rate compare with and without Rodri?

Given Rodri's significance at the base of City's midfield, it's no surprise that their win percentage drops in the Spaniard's absence.

Since joining the club, Rodri has missed 45 games for various reasons and City have won 30 of these games - a win percentage of 66.7%. Their win rate in the Premier League without their midfield lynchpin is 61.9%, with three of the 13 total league wins they've secured arriving at the start of the 2024/25 campaign.

City started the new season with victories over Chelsea, Ipswich Town, and West Ham while Rodri recovered from an injury sustained during the Euro 2024 final.

The Cityzens' record without Rodri is respectable, but they're considerably less successful compared to when their star midfielder is in the team. When he is present, City's win rate increases to 74.2% overall and 74.1% in the Premier League. Of course, the sample size here is also far greater - 260 total games.

The Premier League games Manchester City have lost without Rodri

Man City first lost without Rodri in 2020 when he was an unused substitute in a 1-0 defeat at Southampton. Che Adams spectacularly scored his first Saints goal against a City side that had already seen Liverpool take their Premier League title.

Stuart Dallas enjoyed the space left vacant by Rodri's absence to net twice at the Etihad in a 2-1 win for Leeds United, who had defender Liam Cooper sent off just before half-time, the following year.

A Tottenham Hotspur side without their own talisman Harry Kane consigned City to another defeat in north London in 2021, but City would then go the better part of two years without losing a league game with Rodri not involved.

That run was ended when he was rested on the final day of the 2022/23 league season as Brentford nicked a 1-0 win.

After engineering a deserved 2-1 victory over City in September 2023, Wolverhampton Wanderers boss Gary O'Neil explicitly referenced the absent midfielder. "I think Rodri missing was a big plus," O'Neil admitted. "I think Rodri makes that team tick a lot better. Obviously no disrespect to anybody who played today but when he's the pivot it's a lot more difficult to stop."

Mikel Arteta only briefly overlapped with Rodri at City but proved to be well aware of how to exploit the cavernous hole he leaves when guiding Arsenal to a 1-0 win over City in October.

It was surely no coincidence that Unai Emery's Aston Villa racked up the most shots ever faced by a Pep Guardiola side on a night when Rodri was missing. Villa's dominant 1-0 triumph at the start of December forced City's manager to admit that he must "find a way to win without him".

The Cityzens refused to lose once Rodri returned as they secured a fourth-straight Premier League title, but their season did conclude with a defeat to Manchester United in the FA Cup final with their star Spaniard in the XI.

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