Nico Gonzalez ‘not Rodri replacement’ but keen to thrive in Manchester City team

Nico Gonzalez insists he is not the new Rodri but is convinced he can thrive in the Manchester City team.

The Spanish midfielder has been asked to fill the sizeable boots of his injured compatriot since joining City in a £50million deal from Porto in January.

It has been a tough start for him, arriving in the middle of an underwhelming campaign as City are sorely missing their injured Ballon d’Or winner Rodri.

The extent of their decline was highlighted on Sunday as the Premier League champions for the past four seasons were swept aside 2-0 by the side set to take their crown, Liverpool, at the Etihad Stadium.

The result left them fourth in the table, trailing the Merseysiders by 20 points and with Champions League qualification now their relatively modest aim.

With Gonzalez settling well — and described by manager Pep Guardiola as a “mini-Rodri” after his performance in a 4-0 win against Newcastle earlier this month — City will still be expected to achieve that.

Gonzalez said: “I’ve just arrived, I’m not used to playing against players of quality like (Mohamed) Salah.

“It’s tough to play against players like this but we also have really good players and I think we have the best team, so I’m pretty sure in the next matches we will have many wins.

“I don’t see myself as the replacement for Rodri, I see myself as another player.

“But I was raised in Barcelona and I’ve always more or less played the way we play here, so I’ve got used to playing here very quickly.

“Obviously the team plays really well, there are also players close to me and everyone wants the ball every time so it’s easy to find players and find passes.

“The quality of the players is so good so for me it’s easier to play here than the team I used to play.”

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