Ruben Dias has praised Rodri for his tendency to step up to the plate for Manchester City when times are tough.
The Manchester City defender also lauded his teammate as a player during the latest episode of the Official Man City Podcast.
Chris Sutton recently claimed that City are “not the same team” in the former Atletico Madrid midfielder’s absence.
Ruben Dias says Rodri “stands out” when times are tough for Manchester City
Stephen Kelly also hailed the 27-year-old as the Sky Blues’ “lynchpin” after his side’s 2-1 victory against Luton Town.
Ruben Dias initially heaped praise on Rodri for being one of the best in the business in his position.
“In terms of Rodri, there are a lot of beautiful words I could say and very easily. He’s one of the best in his position. Normal No.6’s are usually either good with the ball at their feet and not so good defensively or the opposite; he has both”, he said on the Official Man City Podcast.
Ruben Dias went on to highlight how Rodri tends to stand tall and make himself counted during high-pressure situations for Manchester City.
“He is one of those players that whenever tough times come, he stands up and stands out. He’s there for you. When times get rough, I know he will be by my side. He makes the difficult look easy. You know when it matters, he will be there.”
It’s fair to assume that the Portuguese centre-back’s teammates view the Spanish international in the same manner, especially after his heroics last season.
Both Rodri and his teammate share the same trait
While Ruben Dias has been extremely complimentary about Rodri, the truth is he too is similar in this respect.
The Manchester City duo are known to be big-game players and dig their team out of difficult situations.
Rodri does so by being one of, if not the best player on the pitch in several games he plays across a season.
While Ruben Dias rises to the occasion by being a brick wall at the back as well as a vocal leader, as was especially evident during the Champions League for City last season.
As a result, Manchester City legends such as Fernandinho and Vincent Kompany rarely get mentioned in terms of being missed by the club, as Rodri and Dias have done brilliant jobs of emerging as their respective heirs.
With Manchester City having such stalwarts at their disposal, no wonder they have been dominating domestically for years.
