'Guardiola the innovator begins solving Rodri puzzle'

It took Pep Guardiola astir 20 seconds to awesome that he was saturated pinch talking astir Manchester City's absent midfielder Rodri.

He took his spot successful nan media convention room astatine St James' Park little than half an hr aft his side's 1-1 tie pinch Newcastle.

The first question? Does that crippled show really pivotal Rodri is to your team?

Guardiola drew activity and replied: "We played really bully pinch Kova [Mateo Kovacic], Bernardo [Silva] and Rico [Lewis].”

Four of nan 7 questions posed to Guardiola centred astir Rodri successful immoderate form.

And that was aft a akin statement of questioning instantly aft nan televised early kick-off connected Saturday, pinch Guardiola telling BBC Match of nan Day that his midfield were "magnificent".

Eventually, Guardiola straight addressed nan rumor astatine hand.

"I cognize you are going to inquire maine each nan time," he said. "We are going to miss Rodri for his physicality and presence. But he is not there.

"I would emotion Rodri, Oscar Bobb, Kevin [de Bruyne] and [Nathan] Ake to beryllium here. But it is what it is. Sometimes it happens and we person to adapt."

So, pinch City to miss Rodri for nan remainder of nan play arsenic he recovers from cruciate knee ligament surgery, really did they accommodate successful their first Premier League crippled without him?

Guardiola has already said nan reply will not beryllium straightforward.

At Newcastle, he went for Kovacic arsenic nan holding player, pinch nan vastly knowledgeable Ilkay Gundogan and inexperienced Rico Lewis up of him. On Tuesday successful nan Champions League against Slovan Bratislava, it mightiness beryllium John Stones aliases Manuel Akanji. Or Bernardo Silva mightiness driblet deep, arsenic he did for nan last 9 minutes aft Lewis had been replaced by Savinho.

Statistics wise, Kovacic completed 30 passes successful nan last 3rd of nan pitch, much than anyone other successful nan game. However, overall, City's passing accuracy was down astatine 87.5%, their lowest successful a convention crippled since March.

In nan thousands of words written and dozens of information graphics produced this week regarding why Rodri is truthful important, immoderate of it remains unquantifiable.

The Spain world brings a calmness successful aggravated situations; has an instinctive consciousness of space; and absorbs accusation and past delivers connected it.

To that end, a immense magnitude is being asked of Lewis, who is only 19 and conscionable complete 50 games into his elder career, moreover though he has already shown capable expertise to gain 2 England caps.

At Newcastle, Lewis had a quiet game, playing to nan correct of Gundogan. But possibly that is simply a bully thing. He needs to locomotion earlier he tin run.

"With intelligent players, you don't person to talk excessively much," said Guardiola. "Football is simply a activity crippled and Rico sounds perfectly what we person to do.

"He played exceptionally well. He is really bully successful nan mini spaces. He is young and he will improve."

Lewis has an unconventional diversion background fixed his dada is simply a kickboxer. The youngster said precocious that he utilized immoderate kickboxing training to get afloat fresh during nan build-up to pre-season and intelligibly nan intelligence and beingness resilience required to compete successful a athletics arsenic fierce arsenic that tin easy transportation into nan shot arena.

More pertinently, Lewis besides said he sees himself arsenic a number 8 alternatively than successful nan full-back domiciled wherever he emerged from City's academy instantly aft nan 2022 World Cup, which should thief him go what Guardiola wants him to be, moreover if he whitethorn find himself swapping positions connected a regular basis.

It is adjacent to presume Guardiola will get irritated connected a regular ground if nan absence of Rodri is utilized arsenic a logic for thing that doesn't spell their way.

"We person suffered present earlier moreover pinch Rodri," said Guardiola. "At nan free-kicks particularly pinch [Dan] Burn, [Fabian] Schar and Joelinton."

Former City defender Joleon Lescott, analysing nan crippled for TNT, said it was "too early" to opportunity that Rodri's absence was a facet successful nan consequence and reminded everyone Newcastle are a bully side, unbeaten now successful 11 location convention games.

Such are nan ridiculously precocious standards City person group for themselves, 2 Premier League games without a triumph represents their worst tally since past November, erstwhile they embarked connected a four-match winless streak.

The first 3 of those were draws, each of which Rodri started.

It is that reality which underpins Newcastle leader Eddie Howe's appraisal of City - and Guardiola.

“Pep is an innovator,” Howe said. “He is arguably nan champion ever and he has taken nan English crippled to different level.

"Rodri glues everything together and is pivotal to what they do but I deliberation we each make excessively overmuch of a squad missing 1 player.

"It is very difficult to switch players because they are unique, but you person to - and 1 of our challenges was to effort to foretell their starting line-up and strategy because we knew they would reshuffle and do thing different.

"In nan end, it was our champion capacity of nan season.”