‘Wasteful’, ‘Slow’ – Journalists criticise Man City midfielder for ‘worst performance’

Manchester City came from 3-1 down to draw 3-3 with Newcastle United on Sunday afternoon, but there were a number of poor performers that Pep Guardiola won’t be happy with.

Kyle Walker and John Stones didn’t crown themselves in glory with lapses in concentration that led to calls, but Rodri was also not at the races and struggled at St James’ Park.

The 26-year-old started in a deep-lying midfield role but barely turned over possession and misplaced a lot of passes despite having so much of the ball.

Simon Bajkowski of the Manchester Evening News gave Rodri a player rating of 5/10 and said Sunday’s showing was one of his ‘worst performances’ in a long time. He called the midfielder ‘slow’ but praised his assist that got City back in the game.

Craig Vickers of 90min gave Rodri a player rating of 5/10 and said he ‘overwhelmed’ by Newcastle’s high-pressing and energetic style. Vickers also noted the Spaniard was ‘wasteful’ in possession, which is unlike him.

Against Newcastle, Rodri played for 90 minutes, had 139 touches, won seven aerial duels, completed 89.9% of his 119 passes, created one chance, had four shots with only 25% hitting the target, made one tackle, had five clearances, failed to make an interception, blocked one shot and gave away one foul.

The 26-year-old will hope to put that performance behind him and do considerably better in City’s next competitive outing.

In other news, journalists say John Stones looked ‘awfully rusty’ v Newcastle