Pep Guardiola admitted that he had missed Rodri as the midfielder returned to his starting lineup on Thursday night, powering Manchester City to a 5-2 rout of Juventus.
It was comfortably City’s best performance of the summer tournament so far as they made a mockery of the Bianconeri, with goals from Jeremy Doku, Erling Haaland, Phil Foden, and Savinho coming after Pierre Mayulu turned a cross into his own net.
Guardiola’s side were rampant, and it is no coincidence that they were back to their formidable best upon Rodri’s return to the squad. He completed 65 minutes before making way for Ilkay Gundogan, his first start since suffering an ACL injury in September 2024.
“It's a long, long time since we made a performance like today,” Guardiola said at full time. “With and without the ball, and the players were committed.
“We talked about what we have to improve to be who we were in the past, and happy to finish first against a top, top side that proved it in the past and recent games. We're waiting for who will be our opponent.”
Rodri, the 2024 Ballon d’Or winner, missed much of last season as he recovered from knee surgery. City, meanwhile, struggled to their first trophyless season since 2016-17, falling to Crystal Palace in the FA Cup final and crashing out early in the Champions League.
For Guardiola, that was largely down to Rodri’s absence.
He continued: “We missed him a lot, right?!
“I had the feeling last season we had an incredible team, but had a lot of problems: injuries, injuries, injuries.
“Which team is not going to miss the best player in the world?! His composure, he knows exactly what he has to do with the ball, the personality, many things.
“I didn't expect him to play as much minutes after 45, but he said, 'A few more', and the game was good in the second-half with control. He'll be ready for the next one.”
City will face either Real Madrid or RB Salzburg in the round of 16, to be played on July 1.
