Despite the absence of their star player at the start of the season, Manchester City have maintained their dominance on the field, winning all four of their Premier League matches and the Community Shield, demonstrating a strong, resilient side that can adapt to challenges and still come out on top.
The team’s quiet but effective ability to cope without their most important player is a testament to their depth and adaptability, a quality that could prove crucial as they navigate the rest of the season and vie for more titles.
As his Manchester City teammates were gearing up for the new season by arriving at the training ground on the first day of pre-season, Rodri was still riding high from the exhilarating victory of the Euro 2024 tournament in Madrid.
The Spanish midfielder, who was named the player of the tournament and lifted the trophy in the previous night’s post-match celebrations, enjoyed a well-deserved period of relaxation and recovery after his strenuous and successful campaign with the national team.
That was six weeks ago as he took an extended holiday and then returned with some injury issues that have since kept him sidelined. Now he’s back – a significant boost for City after the international break – but have they missed him?
Last season, City played four games where Rodri was missing through suspension. They lost all four. They would win five when he was an unused substitute, while the FA Cup final defeat was his only loss all season, excluding penalty shoot-outs, from 50 appearances.
So it would be understandable if there were some nerves at the prospect of Rodri missing the start of the new campaign. But four games in, he has barely been mentioned and City boast a 100 per cent record.
As Manchester City entered their pre-season without Rodri, the team’s performance was subpar, highlighting the importance of his skills and leadership on the pitch. While most of the other first-team players were also missing from the lineup, two particular stars stood out for their exceptional performances in the absence of their influential teammate.
Mateo Kovacic, who had joined the squad late due to his international duties, quickly proved his worth, exhibiting an impressive level of comfort and competence in the holding midfield position—a role he had previously struggled with in the previous season.
Helped by Nico O’Reilly, Kovacic told reporters in Orlando that he needs a partner to be most effective in holding midfield. O’Reilly wouldn’t have been the obvious choice but there were so few players in the US that O’Reilly fell into the role – and it helped lay the foundation for the system they’ve used at the start of the season.
Pep Guardiola, ever the astute tactician, recognized the need to provide Mateo Kovacic with the necessary support to sustain his outstanding form in the absence of Rodri. To ensure that Kovacic’s efforts would not go to waste, Guardiola enlisted the help of several key players in various roles, including Bernardo Silva, Manu Akanji, Josko Gvardiol, and Rico Lewis.
Lewis, in particular, caught Guardiola’s eye with his versatility and potential, prompting the manager to apologize for initially fielding the young player at right-back instead of his preferred midfield position.
Had all the players been available, Lewis may have got more time in attacking midfield but he was needed as the most senior member of a youthful defence. That forced decision meant Lewis had to show his midfield abilities from full-back.
Now, he’s still at right-back but popping up everywhere from number six to number 10 and even number nine. He’s arguably been City’s best performer of the season so far, and but for better finishing he’d have had two goals on top of his single assist.
Lewis himself has the positional awareness needed to offer support to Kovacic (and Rodri when he gets back). Guardiola called him one of the best players he’s ever trained, and he’s currently keeping a player he considers the best right-back in the world out of the side. So what does that make Lewis?
As indispensable as Rodri is to Manchester City’s success, it became evident that finding a like-for-like replacement was a near-impossible task. Pep Guardiola, however, remained unfazed by this obstacle and instead devised a novel system to compensate for the absence of the Spanish midfield maestro.
At the forefront of this system were two crucial components: Rico Lewis and Mateo Kovacic.
