According to Rodri, Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has told his players to shift their focus towards the clubs “other goals” now that the Premier League title looks beyond their reach.
City suffered a defeat in the Manchester Derby on Saturday and with Liverpool leaving Bournemouth with all three points less than an hour prior the gap between the league leaders and the current champions now stands at 14 points.
When asked what Guardiola had said to the players post-match, Rodri said: “He tried to lift our heads up. It is a tough moment for the team, but we have to keep fighting.
“We have other cups, other goals which are interesting and very good, so we need to keep fighting and of course recover people because we have lots of problems with injuries – it’s been tough at the beginning of the season.”
Can City go on to win the Champions League this season?
Yes
No
On whether the 14-point lead was too much for the Cityzen’s to overturn, Rodri, who is valued at £72m by TransferMarkt, added: “It’s too much, I don’t know. I would tell the supporters to stay behind us because we have other things this year, other cups. It’s difficult but we have to fight until the end.”
And the Spaniard mentioned the team’s other ambitions for a third time before the interview had concluded.
“We don’t want to talk about that (the gap), or look at the table. We have lots of other good things this year, other cups, and we still have the Premier League, of course.”
His comments may have provided us with all the confirmation we could possibly need regarding the topic of a priority shift within the camp.
TIF Tactics – Can City go on to European glory?
Manchester City certainly have the players to give the Champions League a real good go this season however there will be scepticism regarding their ability to defend against Europe’s elite, in particular, the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi should they come across them in the knockout stages.
However, with a January transfer window on the horizon, it wouldn’t come as that big of a surprise if the club were to add a central defender to their ranks in order to increase their chances of European glory. Guardiola has gone on record as saying he wouldn’t be looking to strengthen during the mid-season window but a lot can change in football very quickly.