Gary Neville names 'amazing' Man City ace who has been their most important player for 18 months

Gary Neville believes Rodri has been Manchester City's 'most important' player over the last 18 months after another outstanding performance during Friday's 3-0 win over Burnley.

Rodri scored the third goal of the night at Turf Moor, finding himself in the right place to fire home from close range following a corner. Erling Haaland had put the Blues two up at the break, also scoring from close range before curling a wonderful effort past James Trafford to double his tally.

City were far from their best in Lancashire and absorbed plenty of pressure from a vibrant Clarets outfit. The second half saw Pep Guardiola's side take the sting out of the game by keeping possession and silencing the Turf Moor crowd.

Key to that was Rodri, who completed the most passes (107) and dictated the tempo throughout the second half. And Neville has heaped praise on the defensive midfielder, identifying City's set-piece threat as a potential surprise package for the season.

ALSO READ: Man City player ratings vs Burnley as Erling Haaland and Rodri brilliant

"He’s amazing," Neville told Sky Sports of Rodri. "I’d say over the past 12 to 18 months he’s been Man City’s most important player.

"Now, that might seem crazy to say when you talk about De Bruyne and Haaland but he just does everything. He runs the attack, he breaks down in defence, he connects through midfield, he’s a leader. Just unbelievable the level Rodri has got to, and him in set pieces.

"Man City are a huge threat on set pieces, but they’ve essentially got six Haalands - say if you put [John] Stones at right-back and [Nathan] Ake at left-back - you’ve got five or six of them wandering into the box.

"Teams can’t deal with that. That’s a real wake-up call for the rest of the