Rodri injury reality clear for Man City amid Liverpool title chase

Manchester City is already just eight games into the new season.

The reigning champion suffered a major blow , leaving it light in the middle of the park and without one of its most influential players ahead of yet another title defense.

The Spaniard had been crucial to his side winning four Premier League trophies in a row, which included a treble winning season in 2022-23 where he scored the only goal of the game to secure first ever trophy following a 1-0 defeat of Inter Milan.

But if City wants to extend its run as reigning champions for another campaign, then it will have to do so without the 28-year-old, who managed just 60 minutes of Premier League football across two appearances this season before he was sent back to the treatment room .

So far, things haven't gone too badly, with outfit picking up two wins and a draw in its three Premier League games since Rodri's injury. In fact, the Citizens also won its first three games of the new campaign without the Spain international.

However, despite sitting second in the table after winning six of its first eight games and maintaining the only unbeaten record left in the top flight, this season is City’s worst ever defensive start to a Premier League campaign under Guardiola.

According to data collected by , the reigning champions have conceded more goals (9) and kept fewer clean sheets (1) after eight Premier League games than in any other season under the Spaniard.

The last time City managed so few clean sheets after its first eight games of a campaign was in 2016/17, in Guardiola’s first season. And even that year, it only conceded eight times by the same stage, making this season officially Man City’s worst defensive start to a campaign under the 53-year-old's stewardship.

But this is no coincidence, given Rodri has featured in just two of those eight games. Yes, City's only clean sheet came without him in the side (a 2-0 victory away to on the opening weekend), but the point still stands that Guardiola's side has been more prone to leaking goals at the back without its first-choice midfielder there to protect it.

This isn't the first time this has happened, either, with City also suffering back-to-back defeats in the Premier League last season when Rodri was suspended two games. In fact, the club's only other defeat of the campaign came when Rodri also wasn't in the side due to another suspension.

While City is yet to suffer the same fate without Rodri so far this season, the lack of clean sheets and amount of goals conceded is a good sign for in the title race nonetheless. Furthermore, City has also conceded first on four occasions already this season.

Against better opposition over the course of the campaign, the reigning champion could find things a lot harder to navigate, and that December 1 meeting with Liverpool at Anfield could be the perfect chance for side to take advantage and strike while City is without its star midfielder.