Man City’s Rodri says Liverpool have a player who is genuinely ‘painful’ to come up against

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During his spells at Villareal, Atletico Madrid and Manchester City, Rodri has played against some of the best players in the history of the game.

Rodri would perhaps admit that testing himself against such legendary players has improved his game.

After all, when the Spanish international signed for Manchester City in 2019, he was not the all-conquering midfielder he is today who seemed destined to win the Ballon d’Or one day.

Marc Cucurella emphasised Rodri’s understated brilliance when explaining that it is evident when witnessing City’s fall from grace this season.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
4	Man CityManchester City	26	13	5	8	52	37	15	44

But as much as Pep Guardiola has pushed Rodri as well to elevate his game, there is no better test than competing against the best players in the world in the Premier League and the Champions League.

Only then can any player truly know where they stand amongst the upper echelon of footballers within the game.

Rodri says Mohamed Salah is “painful” to play against

It’s fair to say that Rodri has proven that he belongs amongst the best of the best in world football.

But even a player of the four-time Premier League winner’s caliber finds it difficult to come up against some opponents.

Rodri has named Mohamed Salah as a player who he thinks is “painful” to come up against when he is at his brilliant best.

The 28-year-old told JD Football: “I would say two, of course, for me, the best player I ever faced and the most difficult one is Messi but by far, if I have to tell you in my career, I would say Mo Salah because many times we face them, we all know the rivalry we have between City and Liverpool and wow, he’s a fantastic player.”

“But wow, it’s so, so painful when he’s at his best level.”

Previously as well, Rodri has described Salah as a “knife” while admitting that he has never come up against a player as decisive as him. The Liverpool legend punished Manchester City on Sunday as well, scoring and assisting in their 2-0 win as he continues to make a case for being the most in-form player in the world.

Salah record vs Rodri

Salah’s record against City in general is incredible, registering 13 goals and eight assists against them in all competitions.

But even Rodri has suffered when playing on the same pitch as the former Roma winger.

The midfield maestro has come up against Salah 11 times in his career.

In those games, the latter has scored seven goals while also winning three games.

While Rodri has been on the winning side more times (four) than Salah, his admission attests to the player the two-time PFA Players’ Player of the Year award winner is.

The Reds hero would likely feel the same about the injured superstar, who much like him has also singlehandedly elevated his position.