Man City cannot ignore Rodri plea again with obvious solution for Pep Guardiola

Rodri needs a rest.

Pep Guardiola tried to put on a brave face after Manchester City got away with an incredibly sloppy first half from their midfield maestro at Crystal Palace, claiming that players only look tired when they don't play well. However, after another start and another below-par performance at the Bernabeu the man himself admitted that he can't keep doing this.

He said the same to City coaches in the summer after a marathon campaign that saw him nail down his reputation as the best in the world in his position with a year of consistently excellent performances to drive his team to the Treble. It had been amazing, yet he knew that he could not keep doing it.

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City did try to listen, it was just their attempts at another Treble quickly got in the way. Kalvin Phillips, the man best placed to take the load off Rodri, never took his opportunities to gain Guardiola's trust and was sent off on loan in January after just zero Premier League starts; new signings Mateo Kovacic and Matheus Nunes showed that they weren't ready to step up during a three-match suspension for Rodri in autumn that saw City lose every game.

A ban for too many yellow cards saw the Spaniard absent at Villa in December where City were well beaten all over the pitch in a defeat that left major questions for Guardiola and their title hopes. Since then, the Blues are unbeaten in 25 matches in all competitions and Rodri has started 22 of those including the last four in 10 days - setting a new personal record as it is now 65 games since he tasted defeat - to put them in