Manchester City chief Pep Guardiola labeled Rico Lewis and Mateo Kovacic his team’s standout midfield pairing in a 1-1 draw at Newcastle United, as the Premier League champions came to terms with the massive setback of being without Rodri for the rest of the season. The 28-year-old Spanish midfielder suffered an ACL rupture and underwent surgery, leaving a gaping hole in the set-up at City.
Guardiola acknowledged that outcome of Rodri’s absence, but praised his midfield replacements as “Kova and Rico were magnificent.” Further ahead, he refused the opportunity to play Bernardo Silva deeper, underlining that alternatives should be found.
The scoring at St. James’ Park was opened by City’s full-back Josko Gvardiol with excellent movement as he scored his fifth of the year. His goalscoring skills, though, have come as a surprise even to Guardiola: “In small spaces, he’s really good. but I didn’t count on his goalscoring skills.”
Despite the solid performance, the striker, Erling Haaland, failed to add to his tally after scoring 10 goals in his first five games this season. Haaland took several knocks and was left with a visibly bleeding ankle, but Guardiola downplayed the concern: “Yeah, Premier League.”
City did have a few chances and had a good presence in midfield, though Guardiola admitted they had some ‘problems’ in dealing with balls in behind. However, he was satisfied with the point away from home in a difficult game as City continue to find their rhythm without their midfield linchpin.
