Chapter 875: An Open Match
Pep Guardiola stomped his feet furiously on the sidelines, shouting Rodri's name at the top of his lungs. Manchester City's conceded goal had begun when Phil Foden's pass to Rodri was intercepted.
Although the ball came from Foden's back pass, the main responsibility lay with Rodri. He didn't move forward to receive it but instead waited stationary, giving Manchester United the perfect chance to steal the ball.
Rodri had joined Manchester City in the summer of 2019 for a staggering €70 million, setting a new transfer record for the club. He was seen as the successor to Fernandinho, the Brazilian defensive midfielder widely regarded as one of the best in Premier League history.
However, Rodri's early days in England were far from smooth. Despite making 52 appearances across all competitions and being a regular starter, he was still a long way from matching Fernandinho's influence. Many believed he would struggle to escape Fernandinho's shadow. Rodri himself later admitted that he was dissatisfied with his first season in the blue shirt:
"My first year at Manchester City could only be described as disastrous. I had no idea what my teammates were saying on the pitch—I could only respond through my actions."
From this season onward, though, Rodri began to find his rhythm in midfield, becoming an essential part of City's spine. He started contributing offensively and dictating the tempo in the center of the pitch.
But for Guardiola, to see Rodri commit such a blunder in a crucial match like this was beyond disappointing.
...
While the City players were still celebrating, José Mourinho called N'Golo Kanté to the sideline, reinforcing his tactical instruction: press Rodri!
Two minutes later, Kevin De Bruyne—City's midfield engine and the scorer of their goal—sat down on the ground after trapping the ball, signaling for a substitution.
City were forced to make a change. De Bruyne was replaced by Sergio Agüero.
This substitution prompted Guardiola to adjust the team's formation from a 4-4-2 to a 4-3-3. Agüero joined Foden and Gabriel Jesus in attack, while Bernardo Silva, Rodri, and Paul Pogba formed the midfield trio.
Mourinho could barely hide his grin on the sidelines.
City's midfield—De Bruyne, Rodri, Pogba, and Bernardo Silva—had already looked fragile defensively. Rodri was the lone holding midfielder, easy to expose, while Pogba and Bernardo focused mainly on offense. Before De Bruyne's injury, he had been the only one truly working hard defensively.
Now that De Bruyne was off, Mourinho saw Manchester City's midfield as virtually unprotected.
Yet, just then, City struck again.
Gabriel Jesus, back on the left wing, made a low cross from the flank. Pogba sent the ball lofting toward the far post. Rodri, eager to redeem his earlier mistake, surged forward and flicked it on with a header.
Agüero, who had just come on, controlled the ball under tight marking and unleashed a stunning half-volley. The ball whistled between David de Gea's hands and into the net.
"GOOOOOOOOOOALLLLLLLLLL!!!!"
Agüero sprinted away in celebration, motioning for his teammates to join him.
...
Mourinho shook his head with mild irritation. There wasn't much to blame—Harry Maguire had defended properly, but Agüero's individual brilliance was simply unstoppable.
Agüero's goal put City ahead once more, 2–1!
The City fans were ecstatic. This back-and-forth battle gave them confidence. In fact, some fans were more anxious when City led comfortably—at 2–0 or 3–0—than during these tense exchanges.
But only five minutes later, United breached City's defense again.
Luke Shaw exchanged a neat one-two with Marcus Rashford and dribbled into the box.
John Stones, clearly panicking, stepped up to defend.
Shaw nudged the ball wide, then used sheer pace to overtake him.
With that simple, direct move, Luke Shaw breezed past Stones and cut into the box.
Drawing Kyle Walker toward him, Shaw squared the ball to Harry Kane, who laid it back perfectly for Rashford.
"Marcus Rashford—shoots!"
Stones was still stunned after being beaten. Walker was pulled away by Shaw, Rúben Dias was marking Kylian Mbappé, Oleksandr Zinchenko was held by Bruno Fernandes, and Rodri was occupied by İlkay Gündoğan. Rashford found himself completely free at the top of the box.
He struck cleanly. The ball curved past Ederson's left hand and nestled just inside the post.
2–2. Manchester United equalized again.
...
On the sideline, Guardiola clutched his bald head in frustration.
Every time City took the lead, United clawed right back. This relentless pressure unsettled Guardiola—he could almost feel like a beast was stalking his team, ready to pounce the moment they faltered.
To be fair, City weren't playing badly at all today. In fact, their performance was commendable.
By the 41st minute, City created another golden chance. Foden dribbled forward, faced Virgil van Dijk, faked left with his foot, then flicked his ankle to slip the ball through to Rodri.
United's defenders swarmed toward Rodri.
The Spanish midfielder showed his skill, skipping the first touch and instead flicking the ball forward in an unorthodox pass.
Pogba met it perfectly and blasted a thunderous shot!
De Gea leapt to his right and managed to parry it away.
Foden rushed in for the rebound, but Maguire used his body well, shielding the ball and clearing it out of play.
"What a beautiful attacking move from City—simply delightful to watch!"
"Even though it's 2–2, this scoreline doesn't reflect poorly on them. City are playing some great football today."
...
Guardiola clenched his fists as Pogba's shot flew toward goal, waved in frustration when De Gea saved it, nearly jumped in excitement when Foden chased the rebound, and then groaned as the chance went begging.
"The attack was good—just unlucky," comforted assistant coach Rodolfo Borrell.
"Pretty attacks mean nothing without goals," Guardiola muttered grimly.
Borrell said nothing. He knew the pressure weighing on Guardiola. Despite having played one more league match, City still trailed United by five points with only five rounds remaining. The Champions League had become their lifeline—and if they couldn't win at home today, overturning it away would be nearly impossible.
Meanwhile, Mourinho had been frightened by City's last attack. When De Gea managed to parry Pogba's strike, Mourinho exhaled deeply, his teeth grinding audibly.
De Gea's earlier performance had not impressed him—especially the first goal, where his rash decision to rush out allowed De Bruyne to chip from midfield.
Truthfully, De Gea's form this season had dipped compared to last year. Though United sat atop the league, they had conceded three more goals than City—despite playing one fewer match.
More goals conceded, poorer goalkeeping—it all made sense.
...
The beauty of football lies in its unpredictability—you never know what will happen in the next second.
City's last sequence had lifted the home crowd's spirits. But when they threw in from the sideline, Gabriel Jesus received the ball, turned, and tried to beat João Cancelo—only for the Portuguese full-back to dispossess him cleanly.
After the brilliant tackle, Cancelo took a touch, steadied himself, and launched a long ball forward.
"A clearance—no! It's a pass! Manchester United are on the counterattack!"
Cancelo's passing technique shone brightly as the ball soared over half the pitch, flying from United's penalty area toward the opposite end.
City had pushed too high; only Stones remained in defense.
Mbappé sprinted toward the ball. Stones hesitated, unsure whether to step up.
"Go! Go!" Ederson screamed.
Stones charged forward.
As the ball dropped outside the box, both he and Mbappé went for it full speed. They collided, the ball ricocheted off both players, and bounced free.
Stones fell to the ground. Mbappé stumbled forward, looking certain to fall—
—but his incredible agility saved him. Somehow, he stayed on his feet, scrambling up with catlike reflexes.
Stones was still on the turf.
...
"Foul!" Guardiola jumped and shouted from the sideline.
City's substitutes roared: "That's a foul!"
Mourinho, furious, yelled back: "Fair challenge!"
Naturally, both sides saw it differently—perspective depends on allegiance.
All eyes turned to the German referee, Felix Brych.
No whistle. Brych ran forward—meaning: no foul! Play on!
Luckily, this was a closed match, otherwise the Etihad stands would have erupted in boos.
On the pitch, Mbappé caught up to the ball and charged into the box.
Ederson rushed out to meet him.
Mbappé swung his right leg.
Ederson steadied himself, lowering his stance, ready to dive.
(END CHAPTER)
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