Cesc Fabregas has said that Manchester City will need one of their players to be at the top of his game if they want to win another Treble.
The Blues are currently in the frame to regain the three titles they won last season, being one point off the top spot in the Premier League table, in the semi-finals of the FA Cup and one victory away from being in the semi-finals of the Champions League.
With three major titles on the line once again for Pep Guardiola’s side, one former top-flight player, who knows what it takes to play under the City boss, has pinpointed a specific member of the Spaniard’s squad that he feels will be a key factor in how successful City end up being this season.
Fabregas says City need ‘top player’ to be at his best
Speaking in a recent episode of Planet Premier League, Fabregas had this to say about Rodri when asked if he was surprised that the midfielder recently told the media he feels tired and needs a rest.
He said: “Yeah. Especially at the stage of the season. Maybe you can say it privately to the coach, to the fitness coach, between your players, teammates, etc, but it is not very common to hear that a player says that to us publicly, to the press.
“I saw him a little bit off, to be fair. He missed more passes than I’m used to. He’s been at a really, really high level for the last two years, and it catches the eyes sometimes, like say, oh my God, he’s missing some passes that he normally doesn’t miss.
“I think he’s a top player. If City want to do what they did last year or close to it, because what they did last year, it’s very, very difficult, but they do need Rodri at his very, very best.”
Does Rodri need a rest?
City’s previous Treble-winning season saw Rodri feature in all but five of their matches across all competitions, racking up 56 appearances in total.
This time around, the midfielder, who is picking up a weekly wage of £220k-a-week, has featured in 41 games across all competitions, starting all of them and completing the full 90 minutes 31 times.
With the Blues losing the three Premier League games that Rodri missed through suspension, this highlights how important he is for the team and the impact his absence has.
Therefore, it’s easy to see why Fabregas thinks City will need to have a fully fit Rodri available at all times if they want to lift even more silverware.
In our view, the challenge for Guardiola is to find a time, such as this weekend’s Premier League home game against Luton Town, for Rodri to get a rest, especially since City have their second-leg tie against Real Madrid in the quarter-final of the Champions League around the corner.