Manchester City midfielder Rodri, who scored the matchwinner for his team in their matchday 3 fixture with Sheffield United, hailed his team for their resilience in the gam.
The Blades sat back and absorbed City’s pressure but did it so well that the defending champions were limited in their attack for most of the game.
Talismanic striker Erling Haaland showed he was human by missing a first-half penalty but he went ahead to correct his mistake with a powerful header to open the scoring in the second half. Sheffield United equalised a few minutes from time and though they had sealed a famous point against the treble winners until Rodri struck much later in the game to take home all three points from Bramall Lane.
Pep Guardiola looked the most relieved but there was also a sign of worry on his face after the game. Meanwhile, Rodri, who got the goal that bagged the Cityzens all three points, praised his team for fighting to the end.
“Yeah, we worked a lot today,” Rodri, who has two goals in three Premier League games for City this season, said. “It’s one of the games where you have to be patient until the end because they’re very narrow.
“Great credit to them. They defended so good today. In the end, we had the first chance with the penalty and unfortunately we missed.
“But we kept trying and trying till the end. Erling [Haaland] needed one, two, three chances but he is a goalscorer and he scored for us.
“The mistake for the goal cannot happen again. The mentality of the game didn’t drop, we kept going and at the end I got the goal so I am very happy.”
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola also celebrated 200 wins as a Premier League manager following the win at Bramall Lane. He was not at the game, however, but his assistant Juanma Lilo said after the match that the former Barcelona manager was with them in spirit.
“During the match I spoke to him at some moments but generally he was speaking to other members of the technical staff,” Juanma revealed.
“He has been totally present today.
“If there was more space on the bench I wouldn’t have sat in his seat.
“Pep’s seat is Pep’s seat. He was there with us the whole time.
“I much prefer being with Pep and especially when it’s a question of health I don’t enjoy this at all.
“When I was here before – and now – he was encouraging us all to be involved. We need his presence more than ever.”
