Stephen Kelly has described Rodri as the “lynchpin” of this Manchester City side.
After Pep Guardiola’s side narrowly beat Luton Town 2-1 on Sunday, the pundit discussed the 27-year-old’s impact to his team on BBC Radio 5 Live’s Football Daily (10/12/2023) show.
Paul Merson recently hailed the 27-year-old as “irreplaceable’ for the Sky Blues and Guardiola.
Stephen Kelly says Rodri is the “lynchpin” of this Manchester City side
Even Shaun Wright-Phillips recently claimed that the former Atletico Madrid midfielder is the treble-winners’ most important player.
While John Obi Mikel observed how the three-time Premier League winner was “screaming” at his teammates against Luton Town, as he noted that he is indeed a leader at the club.
As Manchester City staged a second-half comeback to defeat Luton, Stephen Kelly was full of praise for Rodri.
“And then obviously, Rodri, he seems to be the lynchpin for everything with them, isn’t it? I know [Mateo] Kovacic is a great footballer going in there but Rodri seems to be that glue that holds them together regardless of who else is on the pitch.”
“If he’s there, they have a chance”, Kelly said on BBC Radio 5 Live’s Football Daily show.
The return of Rodri against Luton Town spoke volumes of his importance
Stephen Kelly is bang on about Rodri, who showed how instrumental he is to this Manchester City side against Luton Town.
The Spanish international put in yet another spectacular display, dictating the tempo of the game, providing a sense of calmness on the ball and making key contributions to his side defensively to ensure that they got their desired result at Kenilworth Road.
Much like the scoreline suggests, it was quite a closely fought encounter between both sides, especially after Manchester City took the lead.
But that is where Rodri’s intelligence and brilliant defending come into the picture.
On several occasions, the ex-Villareal anchor made crucial blocks and interceptions to stop Luton’s dangerous attacks while also making smart, tactical fouls to make sure the hosts did not gain any momentum offensively.
As long as Manchester City manage to keep Rodri fit and firing, it would be silly to count them out in any competition and against any team in the world.
