The Spaniard opened the scoring in the first half, after he was allowed to drive towards the Sheffield United penalty area, creating enough space to fire a shot across Wes Foderingham and make the breakthrough for City.
Speaking after the game, Rodrigo talked through his goal, which set us on the way to three valuable points.
“I saw the gap in between the lines, and I think that was the only way to punish them,” he began.
“Then I faced the defenders and, to be honest, in the moment I didn’t think to shoot, but they were dropping and dropping, and the crowd was asking me to shoot, so I did and it was a good goal.”
In the second half, Julian Alvarez beat two Sheffield United defenders to tap in a Phil Foden cross from close range and put the game beyond the Blades.
“It was important [to get the second goal],” Rodrigo expressed.
“In this league, being one goal up is so dangerous and in any situation teams can punish you and score and draw the match, so we had to get the second.
“That’s why we kept on pushing smartly, and eventually we got the second and managed to control the second half.”
Pep Guardiola’s men managed to keep a clean sheet in the final game of 2023 and came away with another three points.
The victory put us within touching distance of top spot, two points behind leaders Liverpool.
And Rodrigo was more than aware of the importance of the victory.
“I think it was a very serious game in general, a very tough one to be honest.
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“They defended so narrow like we knew, but they didn’t have the intention to change that, even in the second half.
“This changed the dynamic of the game a bit, so we had to keep the ball and let the clock tick on till the end.”
As he reflected on 2023, and despite a year full of achievements for the City squad, Rodrigo insists that his teammates are hungry for more success in 2024.
“It’s been incredible, as a team and for me, 2023 has been the best year and I’m so glad for that.
“I think this team wants even more, we want to have everyone back fit, and I think in the second half of the season we will be even better.”
