Manchester City started their 2024/25 Champions League campaign with a 0-0 draw against Inter Milan on Wednesday night.
Despite it being a new format this season, City dropped points in a Champions League home game for the first time in five years with this stalemate against the Italian side.
With 60% possession and 22 shots at goal in total, the Blues were still unable to break the deadlock and secure a win.
After the match, Pep Guardiola still had some praise to share for one particular City player and what he delivered on the night in terms of individual performance.
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Pep Guardiola praises Rodri’s performance in Man City vs Inter
Speaking to TNT Sports after his side’s midweek draw, Guardiola said this when asked what he made of Rodri’s performance in the game.
He said: “He played really good. Always, Rodri plays good.”
Rodri played well against Inter
The Spaniard made his first appearance of the season when he came on for the second half of City’s 2-1 win over Brentford last weekend.
Then against Inter on Wednesday, Rodri completed the full 90 minutes, as he did in the 2023 Champions League final against the Italian side and even scored the winning goal to secure the trophy and the Treble for City.
In midweek, the midfielder had 98 touches of the ball in total, completing 82 of the 88 passes he attempted.
From a defensive point of view, Rodri made three tackles and one clearance to help his side keep a clean sheet, although he couldn’t help them break the deadlock on this occasion.
Earning himself an overall match rating of 7.6/10 from SofaScore, only Josko Gvardiol (8.7/10) and Jack Grealish (7.9/10) had higher ratings than the Spain international.
With all of that in mind, it’s understandable why Guardiola was pleased with what he saw from Rodri in his first full game of the season against such a strong side.
