Gabriel Jesus’ strike early in the second half proved to be the difference at Stamford Bridge, as Pep Guardiola’s men deservedly came out on top in the battle between the Premier League holders and the European champions.
Our 1-0 victory represented a fifth successive Premier League clean sheet and saw us move up to second in the table, one point behind next weekend’s opponents Liverpool.
And Rodrigo is excited by what’s to come from Pep Guardiola’s men, believing City are hitting our stride when it really matters.
“It is still early but the most important thing is that we keep improving every day,” he said.
“We showed to ourselves that we can come back to the big stadiums and can compete with these guys and we beat them.
“The three points are the most important and we need to keep going. In the last game (against Southampton) we dropped two points and were stopped.
“Today, it was kind of a final, but I think it is still very early. But for the feeling of the team, the sensation, the ambition, it is very important.”
Pep Guardiola once again opted for a fluid front three, with Gabriel Jesus, Phil Foden, Jack Grealish and, from a slightly deeper position, Bernardo Silva and Kevin De Bruyne all interchanging to bring a new dimension to City’s attacking play.
It worked to great effect at Stamford Bridge, and Rodrigo insists that impact was made possible by both his teammates’ trust in Guardiola’s gameplan and our collective ethos.
He reflected: “Football is about the support of all the players, not just one.
“We know the kind of players that we have and although we can say we don’t have that quality, we have other qualities that we try to split.
“We are a different team, a different way of playing and we understand the game in one way.
“I think it has been quite successful in the last few years, so we just keep moving. We are just focused on our strengths.”
