cHelsea was once a trendsetter and had an individual who redefined a role. After Didier Drogba's arrival in west London, there was an outcry from a plethora of first division teams to find someone who could play as a lone striker with the same success. The Ivorian redefined what a lone leader could do.
Twenty years later the city of manchester Midfielder Rodri is the man clubs want to clone because he is an integral part of the success of the European and Premier League champions. Over the past 12 months, Chelsea have spent around £250m on Enzo Fernandez, Moisés Caicedo and Roméo Lavia in the hope of finding the man capable of being the foundation of a new era.
None of the three have lived up to their expensive billing since arriving at Stamford Bridge (Lavia has played half an hour all season) and considering the amount of pressure Fernández and Caicedo will have been prepared to face at the Etihad, they could having felt somewhat overwhelmed. . But they were well organized for long periods against the striker, showing great character. It's perhaps worth reminding people that Rodri's first year at City was a difficult learning curve.
City were always going to dominate possession, it was a question of to what extent Chelsea he took care of it. The two South Americans looked comfortable on Monday night, when the Blues had 77% possession in their win at Crystal Palace, but the circumstances were the other way around here, requiring a change in mentality.
After Raheem Sterling finished off an excellent counter-attack against his former employers, Rodri must have worried that his record of not losing a City game since February 5, 2023 was under threat.
All of City's defeats have come with the absence of Rodri, which sums up their importance, losing five of the seven games their metronome has missed. Rodri showed incredible character to continue driving his team forward as the visitors continued to press. At times it was as much a battle of mentality as it was skill, with neither willing to submit.
Chelsea were clearly concerned about Rodri's influence; Mauricio Pochettino had given Conor Gallagher the role of potential pickpocket, stalking his prey in front of the City box, desperately hoping to keep his target calm and attack any potential loose ball. Every time possession was sent back to Ederson, the goalkeeper's first option was to check Rodri's whereabouts because when he has half an inch of space, he can turn to take City up the field, but Gallagher was always on the lookout to stop. progress.
While City have one full-time defensive midfielder, Chelsea needed two to have any hope of keeping the Premier League champions at bay. Fernández and Caicedo finally look like a partnership that could be at the center of Pochettino's evolutionary process. They complement each other. Caicedo is the man who reads the danger and makes the tackles when necessary, although he walked a dangerous tightrope after a foul on Kevin De Bruyne in the first half, while Fernández is the conductor, raising his head to provoke counterattacks. . Rodri manages to do both jobs for City.
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The relentless nature of the Manchester City machine meant that Chelsea spent the second half with their backs against the wall. In the end, Chelsea were lucky to equalize thanks to the dominance shown by City. Much of that came from Rodri's ability to keep the ball moving and move defenders, tiring those in dark blue. The Spaniard was able to find space all over the pitch to leave an option for his teammates, most notably to score the equalizing goal, a goal that offered a slight reminder of his most significant goal for the club in Istanbul last June. .
Maintaining a draw will do wonders for Chelsea's mentality, even if they needed a bit of luck, a worthy reward for their industry, leaving them physically weakened by the final whistle. There is a growing sense of promise in the Caicedo-Fernández partnership and there is no shame in needing two men to do what Rodri offers City because Saturday night was a reminder of the best in the world in that position. “We are not yet at the level of Manchester City, but that is our goal,” Pochettino said. They achieved parity for the 90 minutes, but to achieve it in the long term, they could do worse than learn from Rodri.
