Manchester City beat FC Copenhagen 3-1 in the first leg of their Champions League last 16 tie – and Rio Ferdinand moved to praise Rodri after the game.
City are in a commanding position ahead of the second leg, having produced a really solid performance at Parken Stadium.
Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva and Phil Foden were on target for the visitors, who did their best to keep City at bay and to their credit, they defended well at times and managed to get themselves a goal against the run of play.
Pep Guardiola will have been delighted with the performance though, with City in control throughout.
John Stones had a pretty good outing, but Rio Ferdinand moved to praise Rodri after the game…
Rio Ferdinand hails Rodri after Manchester City beat Copenhagen
City kept the ball extremely well against Copenhagen, and there were lots of short intricate passes to draw players in, leaving big spaces on the wings.
Several times, City swept the ball out wide with the likes of De Bruyne, Foden and Bernardo all peeling out throughout the game.
Rodri – being an amazing passer of the ball – played several balls himself, and Ferdinand was left seriously impressed after the game.
He said on TNT Sports: “Rodri, I have to say and single out. We marvel over stats nowadays and De Bruyne and Foden but the rhythm of this game just drives through one person and he is phenomenal. He is the conductor of this team.”
A typically amazing display from Rodri
This was yet another completely dominant performance from Rodri in a Manchester City shirt.
The £63 million Spaniard completed 98/107 passes (92%), won 8/8 duels made three tackles and had a whopping 121 touches of the ball, according to Sofascore.
The 27-year-old is enjoying another terrific season for City and his importance to this team has never been clearer.
He recently went one year unbeaten in a City shirt which just shows the influence and impact he has, and hopefully he can just be available for every game until the season ends.
