Liverpool gave everything they could to get what would have been a huge win over Manchester City this weekend.
In the end, the Reds couldn’t quite get the three points over the line, settling for a 1-1 draw. But it was a nevertheless a brilliant occasion at Anfield, with the crowd at its raucous best.
With the fans urging their team on, Liverpool hassle and harry and press like no other team on the planet. Even the best players can struggle in that kind of atmosphere. By popular consensus, Man City midfielder Rodri would fall into that category. The Spaniard is one of the world’s finest midfielders.
But Rodri didn’t quite look himself on Sunday either. An early booking was followed by a slightly shaky display, with passes unusually going astray. And according to the man himself via the Liverpool ECHO, the City midfielder and his teammates just couldn’t cope with Liverpool’s high intensity.
“An incredible game,” Rodri enthused. “We started really well in terms of chances and dominance and I think it was quite good. The second half was their half. Of course with the crowd and the way they played and pressed, we weren’t clinical enough to find the spaces. We made a few mistakes but with the high press it is difficult, you are not precise with the ball and that’s what happened in terms of the penalty.
“It was a mistake, but at the end we competed. It wasn’t our best performance, but it wasn’t a bad point here. They are fighting for the Premier League like us and we got a point. It means a lot.”
Rodri praises Liverpool press
This is not the first time Rodri has come away in awe of Liverpool. The 27-year-old has previously labelled the Reds as the hardest team he’s ever faced in his career.
As one of the best midfield lynchpins in the world, Rodri doesn’t appear to be fazed by much. This is a man who has a Champions League winning goal on his CV, don’t forget.
But on Sunday, the former Atletico Madrid player looked absolutely frazzled. With Liverpool swarming over him and the crowd at fever pitch, Rodri’s usual composure went out of the window.
In fairness to the Spain international, he did regain some of that as the second-half went on. You have to give him and his teammates credit for riding the storm and even almost grabbing a winner at the end.
By then though, Liverpool should arguably have been out of sight. Luis Diaz in particular was culpable for not tucking away a number of presentable opportunities.
Ironically though, it was Diaz who gave Rodri his toughest moment of the game. The Colombian left his opponent sprawling on the floor with a run that Jurgen Klopp called ‘crazy’ after the match.
It isn’t often that you see City’s No.16 so out of control and desperate in a one-v-one battle. Anfield – and Diaz – did that to him.
Still, at the end of the day the spoils were shared. Rodri’s admission is perhaps further proof that Liverpool missed a big chance here.
