Chelsea were once the trendsetters, boasting an individual who redefined a role. After Didier Drogba’s arrival in west London, there was a clamour by a plethora of Premier League teams to find someone who could play as a lone striker with equal success. The Ivorian redefined what a solo frontman could do.
Twenty years later the Manchester City midfielder Rodri is the man clubs want to clone because he is integral to the European and Premier League champions’ success. Over the past 12 months, Chelsea have spent in the region of £250m on Enzo Fernández, Moisés Caicedo and Roméo Lavia in the hope they could find the man capable of being the platform for a new era.
None of the trio has lived up to their expensive billing since heading to Stamford Bridge – Lavia has played half an hour all season – and considering the amount of pressure Fernández and Caicedo will have prepared to face at the Etihad, they might have felt somewhat overwhelmed. But they were well-organised for long periods against the battering ram, showing great character. It might be 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 how Chelsea dealt with 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 reversed here, requiring a change in mindset.
Rodri must have worried after Raheem Sterling had finished off a fine counterattack against his former employers that his record of not losing a City match since 5 February 2023 was under threat.
All City’s defeats have come when Rodri has been absent, summing up his importance, losing five of the seven matches their metronome has missed. Rodri showed incredible character to keep propelling his side forward while the visitors kept pushing back. It was a battle of mindset as much as skill at times, neither willing to submit.
Chelsea were clearly worried about Rodri’s influence; Mauricio Pochettino had given Conor Gallagher the role of would-be pickpocket, stalking his prey in front of the City box, desperately hoping to keep his target quiet and pounce on any potential loose ball. Whenever possession was sent backwards to Ederson, the goalkeeper’s first port of call was to check on the whereabouts of Rodri because when he has half an inch of space, he can turn to take City up the pitch, but Gallagher was always lurking to slow down progress.
While City have one full-time defensive midfielder, Chelsea required two to give them any hope of keeping the Premier League champions at bay. Fernández and Caicedo are finally looking like a partnership that could be at the centre of Pochettino’s evolutionary process. They complement one another. Caicedo is the man who reads the danger and puts in the tackles when required, although he walked a dangerous tightrope after a foul on Kevin De Bruyne in the first half, while Fernández is the conductor of the orchestra, lifting his head up to instigate counterattacks. Rodri manages to do both jobs for City.
The relentless nature of the Manchester City machine caused Chelsea to spend the second half with their backs against the wall. Chelsea were, ultimately, fortunate to draw based on the dominance City showed. Plenty of that came from Rodri’s ability to keep the ball moving and move the defenders around, tiring out those in dark blue. The Spaniard was able to find space all over the pitch to keep an option open to teammates, most significantly to thrash home the equaliser, a goal that offered a slight reminder of his most significant for the club in Istanbul last June.
Holding on to draw will do wonders for Chelsea’s mentality, even if they required a little luck, a worthy reward for their industry, leaving them physically wilted by the full-time 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 evening was a reminder of the world’s best in that position. “We are not yet at Manchester City’s level but that is our aim,” Pochettino said. They achieved parity over 90 minutes but to do it in the long-term, they could do worse than learning from Rodri.
