Sergio Aguero Another season with more than 30 goals – he ended with 32 – is testimony to his enduring class. The opener against Liverpool, the crucial winner at Burnley and a hat-trick against Arsenal were big highlights, but Aguero is so much more than just a goalscorer these days. 9
Kevin De Bruyne His brilliant display as a sub in the FA Cup final was a timely reminder of what City have missed for most of an injury-hit season. But when he has played, the Belgian has been top quality. 8
Danilo Played a key role at crucial moments, not least in the win over Liverpool as well as scoring the opener at Huddersfield. The Brazilian is reliable when called upon. 7
Fabian Delph After last season’s excellence, this was a season too far for someone who is not a natural left back and the fact City lost five of the 13 games he started is significant. 4
Ederson Not a season which will be remembered for outstanding saves, but his passing and calm work as an eleventh outfielder has been quite exceptional. 8
Fernandinho Injury problems for the last three months of the season can’t cloud the fact that his brand of sharp defensive work and thrusting transitional play has been essential. 9
Phil Foden His shock introduction in big games at the end of the season speak of his growing maturity. Two goals at Newport and the winner against Spurs have highlighted the next stage of his development. 7
Ilkay Gundogan Always a great player to have around, he came into his own as Fernandinho’s replacement in the last three months and was arguably the Blues’ best player in that tense period. 8
Gabriel Jesus Suffered due to Aguero’s consistent form. But still grabbed 21 goals, including two in the FA Cup final. Had a couple of dips in form, natural given his age and lack of playing time. 7
Vincent Kompany Looked like being a tough season for him, with Stones and Laporte preferred at the start, and injuries also interrupting. But he steadied the ship after a mid-season wobble and was a colossus in the closing weeks of the season, scoring that thunderbolt against Leicester and defending with every ounce of his being. 10
Aymeric Laporte If Kompany made the difference at key moments, the Frenchman was a rock all season – he defended brilliantly and also became a key attacking player, his long-range passing and five headed goals being central to the success. 10
Riyad Mahrez Unfortunate to be behind outstanding Sterling and Bernardo, so he failed to get the run of starts he needed. But his killer goal at Brighton made up for a lot. 7
Benjamin Mendy More injury frustration for the Frenchman after he started the season with a flurry of assists. Needs to keep his nose clean after evoking Guardiola’s wrath more than once. 5
Aro Muric Number two for most of the season, he was drafted in for five Carabao Cup games, keeping four clean sheets and performing penalty shoot-out heroics at Leicester. 7
Nicolas Otamendi Kept out of the team by the excellence of fellow centre backs, he was still an experienced and trustworthy stand-in, and actually started 28 games. Solid. 7
Leroy Sane Perhaps the biggest frustration of the season. Brilliant at times – like his winner against Liverpool and equaliser at Schalke – but misfiring and mopey at others. 7
Bernardo Silva His quality and work rate were evident last season but in this campaign he has taken it to a new level. Great, important goals, oodles of assists, and phenomenal industry – the perfect Pep Guardiola player. 10
David Silva There have been signs of his magical powers waning this season, but he was superb early in the season and is still better than 99 per event of the Premier League. 8
Raheem Sterling Racked up a personal best of 26 goals in the season, and became a main man for club and country. Unplayable at times, his directness, close control and sheer strength are a major City weapon. 10
John Stones Brilliant start to the season as Laporte’s regular partner but Kompany’s greater authority and physicality meant he made three starts in the last 19 games. Next season is his time. 7
Kyle Walker Had a serious wobble in the middle of the season but a spell out of the team saw him return to apply his qualities of pace and power which often give City a counter-attacking edge. 8
Aleks Zinchenko For a player who turned down a £16million move to Wolves last summer, his re-invention as a left back has been one of Pep’s great successes. Great going forward, vast improvement in defence. 8
Last edited by Жавхаа on Fri Oct 23, 2020 2:54 pm, edited 3 times in total.
In its most basic sense, someone being built in Pep Guardiola's mould tells you everything you need to know about a player. They can pass a ball better than most of their teammates, hold onto possession with relative ease, and for young players at least, their ability to read the game surpasses anyone else in the same age bracket. But Rodri is a lot more than just a sprinkle of Sergio Busquets here and a thimble of Xabi Alonso there, because the technically gifted Spain international is establishing himself as his own player and not just the best bits of what came before.
2. He Was Released Due to a Lack of Physical Strength
It was in 2007 that Rodri got his first shot at life with Atletico Madrid in his hometown, leaving youth team Rayo Majadahonda to develop with Los Rojiblancos. But after six years with the club's youth teams, Rodri was allowed to walk away on a free transfer as he was lacking physically at youth level - and he moved to Spain's east coast to develop even further. Fast forward five years with the Yellow Submarines and Rodri now uses his body better than almost anyone else in Atletico's squad. The 22-year-old wins more fouls than any other regular first-team player at the Wanda Metropolitano, while he's also dispossessed less than once per game, and his ability on the ball helps to make him one of the most exciting youngsters who would be perfect at the base any midfield.
3. He's Already Got International Pedigree
The Spanish national team is hardly struggling for quality in midfield, which makes Rodri's ability to break into the squad over a year ago even more impressive. So far in his international career, the Atlético Madrid star has started in half of his six appearances, with La Roja currently unbeaten when Rodri has featured on the pitch. The 22-year-old has hardly cemented his place in Spain's starting eleven, unsurprising given that Sergio Busquets, Saúl Ñíguez and Thiago Alcântara are still at the peak of their powers, but he's been part of every one of Luis Enrique's squads since the World Cup.
4. He's a (Proper) Defensive Midfielder
It's easy to be slapped with a reputation as a midfielder in Spain, one that - just like this article - says how great someone would be under Pep Guardiola before anything else. But while Atléti's Rodri does have all the technical ability that fans have come to expect from players in La Liga, he's head and shoulders ahead of other stars in his position for his defensive work. How much of Rodri's ability on the back foot being put down to Diego Simeone's system is yet to be seen, but the midfielder has averaged more tackles per game than any other player at the Wanda Metropolitano. In a squad that's brimming with defensive talent, Rodri is also level with veteran centre-back Diego Godín for the number of blocks he makes in a match.
5. He Was Voted in a 'Team of the Tournament' With Spain
While stars like Marco Asensio, Germany's Timo Werner and France winger Kingsley Coman stole the headlines at the Under-19 European Championships in Greece four years ago, few players were as important for their side than Rodri. The midfielder was the engine of Luis de la Fuente's side and played all but three minutes of the entire tournament as Spain went on to lift the trophy, beating the likes of France and Germany on route to the final. Spain lost during the group stages to an exciting Russia side, but La Roja made amends in the final by beating Dmitri Khomukha's side - which included Monaco's Aleksandr Golovin - thanks to goals from Borja Mayoral and Matías Nahuel. Rodri was among six Spain players to feature in the Team of the Tournament, including the competition's Golden Boy winner Asensio.
6. He Was Described as the 'Sergio Busquets That Escaped'
Rodri had spent two years in Villarreal's youth system by the time he started to make a name for himself in 2015, and it was at the Under-19 European Championships that the midfielder was really allowed to take that next step. Spain's clash with France in the semi-finals of the competition saw him line up against a former youth teammate in Madrid, Lucas Hernandez, and it was a clash between two players - who by all means were still good friends - that prompted Mundo Deportivo to describe Rodri as the "Busquets that escaped" Atlético Madrid. While things eventually came full circle when Rodri returned to Atléti in 2018, those links with Spain's midfield general some nine months before he made his La Liga debut showed just how highly rated the youngster was, and precisely how good the Rojiblancos academy product could become.