Pep Guardiola reaction to Rodri red card could earn him same Man City treatment as Joao Cancelo

Key talking points from Manchester City’s Premier League clash with Nottingham Forest at the Etihad Stadium.

Rodri’s moment of madness

Manchester City fans stood up to applaud Rodri as he trudged away after receiving his marching orders, but they probably wouldn’t have been as supportive if they watched it again footage of the incident. Rodri had an unnecessary collision with Morgan Gibbs-White at the beginning of the second half, then stupidly put both hands on the midfielder’s neck. The lengthy review only highlighted VAR’s inability to re-arbitrate each situation rather than defending Rodri’s actions.

Pep Guardiola said Rodri is a complete midfielder a week after his goal against Red Star and that he is the best midfielder in Europe. He will not feature in the next three matches – including the crucial trip to Arsenal – after an unnecessary red card. Guardiola has kept Joao Cancelo almost indefinitely after his stupid red card against Fulham last season and Sergio Gomez has not been trusted at the back since the Copenhagen match – so is Rodri being treated similarly? self?

Even for a player as indispensable as Rodri, it was a moment of madness for one of Guardiola’s captains, and the coach did not even look at the midfielder as he headed towards the shelter. Only when Rodri passed did Guardiola turn to look at this player, clearly seething with the desire to fire him. Lesser players have seen their City careers end for fewer breaches.

Haaland’s defiant response

It’s unfair to say Erling Haaland is playing poorly or out of form, but it’s fair to say he could have scored 10 goals against West Ham and Red Star. Guardiola warned anyone thinking of criticizing the striker that doing so would be like playing a dangerous game – given Haaland’s constant tendency to silence his critics. However, by his standards, he missed some very valuable chances last week.

It is unlikely, then, that he loses his opening match against Forest, with Matheus Nunes lifting the cross for Haaland’s powerhouse is unmarked. He hit the crossbar in a similar situation against Red Star, but almost scored in this match.His celebration against West Ham after two or three big misses was a real relief, and this one was even more defiant.

After being cheered on by his teammates and fans, Haaland stepped back for an extra second to roar loudly at the crowd. He is a player who accepts nothing less than perfection, so he will know his standards may have dropped this week. Guardiola believes that Haaland’s critics should be ready to apologize when he inevitably scores again. Haaland appears ready to collect those excuses himself after scoring his second on Saturday.

Walker’s new attacking threat

Guardiola declared Kyle Walker the best footballer of the past 12 months as he reacted to the full-back’s new contract. He is no longer “just” a strong right-back but a full-back who can move into midfield or create a defensive three when needed. That versatility helped him retain his place in the City team after the threat of Rico Lewis last season, but Walker is also at his best when moving up and down the right flank.

The ability to cover right winger and right back simultaneously has allowed Phil Foden to thrive in the ‘right’ position as a second number 10 in recent weeks, and Walker has also enjoyed Benefit from being played higher on the field. It was his perseverance at Sheffield United – after conceding an equalizer – that forced a goal, and he scored for England on international duty when entering the box.

He scored a similar offside goal against Red Star this week, and his run against Forest was spotted by Rodri early on. The midfielder’s passing was perfect, Walker’s first drop to Foden was excellent and his finish impressive. Under the eyes of Gareth Southgate, Walker has added the winger role to his repertoire and this role has only grown as he has gotten older.

Digging deep with help from the stands

The 46-way movement shows the strength of the second string.

When Foden volleyed into Walker’s cut-back for the opener, he completed an emotional 46-pass move and came alive with the last three involved passes after Rodri sent ball over head. Since 2014, no goal has had as many pre-passes, with only one other scoring more passes in the build-up. It was a masterclass in ball control, patience and clinical quality as space opened up.

It was only on Friday that Guardiola spoke of the benefits of his new signings’ ability to run and clear the ball – with Josko Gvardiol, Matheus Nunes and Jeremy Doku starting on Saturday. That has been a feature of City’s recent form, with Guardiola sacrificing some of the control that won him the treble for a more traditional franchise that would win him titles in years to come. 2000 and 2010.


Despite all the changes in the approach to the game this year – some necessitated by injuries – new players and promoted substitutes have shown they can still play following the tiki-taka approach that Guardiola wanted. And after Rodri’s stupid red card, they showed they can also dig deep to get a result.

Digging deep with support from the stands

The last thing City need with several key players out is a stupid red card for one of their most important players. But Rodri didn’t get the memo at halftime to keep things relaxed and got his team-mates in trouble just a minute into the second half. Guardiola immediately brought on Kalvin Phillips for a rare 40 minutes, and soon after added Nathan Ake to the back four to create a back four. Doku and Julian Alvarez were effectively drawn out to emphasize the new game plan

It’s rare for City to play so defensively, but when Forest brought in four good strikers to join Morgan Gibbs-White and Taiwo Awoniyi, Guardiola has no other choice. The response was good, with Nunes working hard and Phillips stuck without the usual hesitation, following him everywhere.

Supporters also reacted to the situation, saying that their 10 people needed support. The whole stadium became noisier every time Forest pressed the field and acted like the 12th man (or 11th man in this situation).Guardiola may be angry with Rodri’s red shirt, but can be satisfied with the pragmatic response on and off the field.