The Spaniard was today voted Etihad Player of the Month for August by Cityzens following a tremendous start to the 2023/24 season.
So, we decided to take a more extensive look at how vital our maestro in midfield has been in our 100% Premier League win record and Super Cup success over the past month.
NUMBER ONE
In his 346 Premier League minutes in our opening four games, there aren’t a lot of statistics Rodrigo doesn’t rank first in compared to other central midfielders across the league.
He tops the charts for the highest number of passes (453) and passes completed (428), as well as the most impressive passing accuracy (94.5%) and is joint first for goals by a central midfielder (2).
MR. RELIABLE
Last season, Rodrigo scored one of the most famous City goals of all-time to help us claim the Treble.
And as we look to retain the Premier League title for a fourth consecutive season, every point matters.
The Spanish international proved once again how he could provide the fatal blow to our opponents as he scored in the 88th minute to help City claim all three points in our 2-1 win over Sheffield United.
And when he’s not scoring important goals, he’s also assisting them. His header back into Burnley’s box allowed Erling Haaland to get our Premier League campaign off to a strong start on the opening weekend before capping off the victory with a goal of his own to make it 3-0 against Vincent Kompany’s side.
WINNING MACHINE
Within City’s current midfield unit, Rodrigo ranks third highest for his win percentage in the Premier League.
For players over 100 appearances, Rodrigo has won 105 of his 142 top-flight fixtures, which is an impressive 73.9%.
Only Phil Foden and Bernardo Silva have a higher win percentage with 78.2% and 76.8% respectively.
SUPER CUP DOMINATION
A menace in midfield, Rodrigo had one of his best performances in a City shirt in our third game of the 2023/24 season.
With a passing accuracy of 88%, the Spaniard completed 86 of his 98 passes, the most of any player on the pitch.
He also created the most chances of any player in the match and the five opportunities he created was the most he has done in any European competition he’s competed in for City. This includes the assist to allow former teammate Cole Palmer to draw us level with Sevilla.
And to top off his stellar performance in Athens, Rodrigo could not be beaten in the air, winning all six of his aerial duels as well making three tackles, the most of any City player.
IRREPLACABLE
Rodrigo is the only player to have featured for every single minute of our August fixtures, highlighting not only his importance in Pep Guardiola’s squad but also how the role he plays is difficult for others to step into.
The 27-year-old played every minute of our Community Shield defeat to Arsenal before scoring in our first Premier League game of the season against Burnley. He then featured heavily in our Super Cup success against Sevilla before capping off the month with wins over Newcastle United and Sheffield United.
This makes it hard to argue that City’s 100%-win record in the English top-flight, and the only team to have picked up all 12 points in the opening month of the season, would not have been possible without our lynchpin midfielder.
