Manchester City are the champions of Europe, and while this achievement will live long in the memory, last night’s win wasn’t as straightforward as the history books may have you believe.
Indeed, it was an incredibly tight game that saw City frustrated time after time by their Italian counterparts, and one man who struggled to really get a foothold in that first-half was Rodri.
The Spaniard was unable to dictate the game in the way he usually does, and that’s something that Mark Schwarzer, speaking on the GegenPod, picked up on.
Indeed, Schwarzer noted that the first-half was incredibly frustrating for Rodri, and he said that the midfielder would’ve had every right to lose his head against Inter. However, as we all know, Rodri instead stayed composed and won the game for City with a fantastic second-half goal.
Rodri could’ve lost his head
Schwarzer gave his verdict on the £63m man.
“It’s interesting as well because in that first 45 minutes Rodri struggled, he got closed down so much, not because he had a bad first-half, but Inter Milan were so good in midfield. To then have that moment in the game where everything was right, he could have lost his head and been frustrated and been thrown off his game, but to have that composure was outstanding,” Schwarzer said.
Did very well
Rodri easily could have let himself get wound up by Inter Milan’s style of play on Saturday, but, as the consummate professional, he got on with his job and was the deciding factor in the end.
To be fair, Inter were barking up the wrong tree if they wanted to wind Rodri up. The Spaniard is utterly unflappable in the midfield, and even on his worst days, he’s capable of coming up with the goods and making the difference.
Rodri could easily have been frustrated by his first-half performance last night, but, in typical style, he stepped up in the biggest of moments.
