Forget Gundogan: Man City’s “monster” with 9 ball recoveries steered Pep to the EPL title

Forget Gundogan: Man City’s “monster” with 9 ball recoveries steered Pep to the EPL title.

Manchester City overcame Aston Villa 3-2 on saturday at The Etihad Stadium to claim the Premier League title for the first time.

The headlines were taken by Ilkay Gundogan’s two goals that ensured City’s victory, but it was “monster” midfielder Rodri who stole the show and was crucial to them winning the title.

The Spaniard has been instrumental for City this season and is the natural replacement to the departing Fernandinho.

The 25-year-old joined Manchester United from Atletico Madrid in 2019 for a fee of £62.8 million. Manager Pep Guardiola, like many others, has shaped him into a world-class superstar.

With City behind 2-0 at the break, his one-on-one tenacity and ability to retrieve the ball guaranteed that City had enough time to score the goals they needed. He also got on the scoresheet, scoring the equaliser.

His amazing work rate is demonstrated by a closer examination of his statistics. He won more than half of his duels and recovered nine balls during the game.

He not only worked hard to recover possession for the Citizens, but he also had the poise to find a man when he got the ball, with an overall pass accuracy rate of 92%.

Rodri also made one crucial pass and had the fourth most touches on the field.

SofaScore gave him a 7.6 rating, which seems severe given how important his play was to the victory and thus City’s season.

He’s made 32 Premier League appearances this season, scoring six goals and providing two assists while playing a deep role.

He is one of the club’s most important players, and his talent is recognised by the fan base but not by those outside the club.

The victory ensures Manchester City do not finish the season trophyless, retaining the crown for the first time since 2019 and securing their fourth title in five years.

They’ll go into next season believing they can do it all over again, but they’ll have another tremendous battle from Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool.

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Forget Gundogan: Man City’s “monster” with 9 ball recoveries steered Pep to the EPL title.